The Medic
by WouldItMatter
Summary: Esdeath remembered the boy who had saved her from perishing in her burning village. She cherished the times they had while growing up together in the Capital. She however, hated his friendship with Najenda. She also couldn't understand why he'd ever want to be a medic. But then, the serene smile he would have as he said "I just want to help people" would make her blush. Harem
1. Chapter 1

Esdeath stared down at her father, the man having just passed away beneath her. The cold ground was a stark contrast to the burning huts around her. The girl had just returned from a hunting trip to find her village, her home, burning to the ground. Only her father had been alive for her to talk to, and the man had just died beneath her. Esdeath just stared at the man, her eyes emotionless.

"Hey! Hello! Is anyone alive!" A voice echoed lowly from behind Esdeath, but the girl ignored it as she continued to stare down at her father. "Anyone!? Hello!" The shout got louder and louder. "Hello! Any surviv-Hey!" The voice stopped mid shout, before Esdeath could hear running behind her. A shadow fell over her father's face, before she looked slowly to her left, a boy crouching on the ground next to her.

"Was this guy your father?" The boy questioned softly, looking up into Esdeath's eyes. Esdeath merely nodded, looking down once more. Her hair fell over her face and shadowed it. "Hrmp… I'm sorry for your loss. But, we've gotta get you out of here!" The boy's voice gained energy after its saddened tone, his hand gripping Esdeath's shoulder. The girl refused to move.

"Come on! Would your father want you to stay here and die!?" The boy questioned, shaking the girl slightly. Again, Esdeath refused to move from her spot, rooted to the ground.

"Err… Please! You've gotta stay strong! Come on!" The boy cried for her once more, and Esdeath's eyes widened slightly. That word. Strong. It resonated within her, reminding her of the philosophy of the North. The Strong Live, and The Weak, Die. Esdeath twisted her head to meet the boy's eyes, observing him for who he was. His hair was blonde, shaggy as it fell down to his jaw. His eyes, a shining sapphire, twinkled with worry for her. His tan skin glowed with the background of fire behind him. He gripped both of her shoulders, twisting her around until she met him, face to face head on.

"Come on! We've gotta get out of here!" The boy's calls echoed within her mind, before she slowly nodded her head. The boy's eyes lit up, and a smile broke his face. He got up quickly, turning around and jogging forward slightly, only to turn around and notice that Esdeath wasn't with him. Esdeath didn't think she could walk, her mind was just suffering too much to work right now. The boy came jogging back, extending an arm to Esdeath. She looked up, and her mind would never forget what she saw.

The boy's eyes, squinted from the face-splitting grin he had put on, shone with so much care that Esdeath's eyes would not believe what she saw. He opened his eyes, his grin lessening. "Come on, I'll help you." His voice was soft, the boy crouching down and grabbing one of her wrists, slinking her right arm around his shoulders before he hoisted her up, pulling Esdeath onto his back and gripping her legs. He was carrying her.

"Hey, what's your name? Mine's Naruto!" The boy's voice drowned out the ravenous noise of the fire burning down her home. Esdeath's mind focused on the boy rather than her home's destruction. "M-My name is E-Esdeath. Esdeath Partas." Esdeath's small voice rang over Naruto's shoulder, causing the boy to smile cheekily. "Ah Esdeath-chan! Hehe, pretty name you got there!" Esdeath smiled, placing her chin on the boy's shoulder as he walked them both further away from the burning village. She would live on, and become strong. Just like her father, just like the boy holding her.

 _Boot Camp, First Day._

"From this day forward, you will all be put to a test of strength, of willpower, of sheer determination! From this day forward, you take your first steps as a soldier for the Empire! From this day forward, may you bring glory!" A man's voice rang out over a group of over 100 recruits for the Imperial Army, his voice bringing determination and being returned with shouts from the students in agreement, fists raised and eyes lit alive with a fire of determination.

"You will be given today to get settled in. Meet your fellow recruits, and get settled into your dorms. That is all! Dismissed!" The large man on stage yelled with finality, before turning around sharply and walking off stage. In the middle of the gathered recruits stood Esdeath, whose eyes were lit with a fiery determination to become strong. She was already strong, but she wanted to be the _strongest._ To her left stood a tall blonde, who smiled softly and rubbed the back of his head. They were both in standard silver recruit uniforms, the only difference being that Esdeath's had the skirt for females, whereas Naruto merely had silver pants.

"Ne, Esdeath-chan, I guess this means we're students now, huh?" Naruto questioned, smiling at his blue-haired friend. The 16 year old girl looked at him, before tapping her index finger to her bottom lip with a pondering look. "Hrm… I guess it does mean that. Whatever, I shall do what I must to become the strongest." Esdeath stated with sigh, though Naruto merely slapped his face and let his hand fall slowly down his cheek. "Esdeath-chan, I thought we talked about this. You are plenty strong, you don't have to be the strongest! I'll be there to patch you up anyway." Naruto reminded, cheekily smiling at her.

Esdeath shook her head, staring at the blonde in defiance. "If I am not the strongest, then you must become the best medic! And, If you are not the best Medic, then I must be the strongest! Besides, a medic is not combat-oriented, so you will need someone who can defend you." Esdeath reasoned, nodding her head once she was done in a confirmation to herself that she was right.

Naruto looked up in a thoughtful manner, holding his chin. "I suppose you are right… Well then! Let's both strive to become the best!" Naruto yelled, the problem settled in his mind as he pointed to the heavens with determination. Esdeath shook her head, smiling as she stared at Naruto. They had been close friends ever since he found her in her burning home. Ever since then, it had always been the two of them, fending for their lives in the empire. And here they were now, recruits for the Imperial Army. And one day, Esdeath would be a general, and Naruto would be her trusty Medic. She still couldn't understand why Naruto would ever want to be a medic. But then, he would say, in what Esdeath called 'The Naruto Way', with a serene smile on his face. _I just want to help people._ And Esdeath would feel her face warm up, and butterflies swirl around in her stomach as she looked at his peaceful face.

Esdeath's thoughts were interrupted as a silver-haired girl walked up to them, waving with a small smile. "Hello! My name's Najenda, what's your's?" The girl questioned, offering her hand towards the pair. Esdeath went to order her to leave them alone, until Naruto stepped forward and clasped hands with the girl, shaking it excitedly and with bright eyes. "My name's Naruto! Nice to meet cha!" Naruto called out with a loud voice, before drawing back and snaking his arm around Esdeath, who was currently glaring at the newcomer.

"This here's Esdeath! Don't worry about her glare, she's pretty mean until you get to know her! I'm sure you two will be great friends!" Naruto exclaimed, closing his eyes as a large smile broke his face. Najenda smiled, deciding that she liked the boy's energy. She was as tall as Esdeath, meaning she was shorter than Naruto, with silver hair and a single, long braid that fell to the lower part of her back. She was also wearing the standard uniform for recruits. Her purple eyes gazed into Esdeath's eyes, a spark flashing between the two, before Najenda merely smiled at her. "Nice to meet you two." Najenda stated, smirking as Esdeath's glare worsened while Naruto dashed over and snaked his arm around Najenda's shoulders instead, smiling happily as he began to properly introduce himself.

"-ike Ramen! Though, I really, _really_ hate Sushi. Ulgh. Disgusting food." Naruto's face twisted in agony as he thought about the food, his whole body shivering as his skin became green. Najenda laughed slightly, turning to Esdeath. "And you?" Najenda questioned, calmly smiling as Esdeath walked up and stood next to the pair. "I like grilled Salmon, and I also share a hatred of Sushi." Esdeath coldly stated, still semi-glaring at Najenda. "Ah, well I enjoy-" Esdeath toned out whatever the girl was saying.

 _2 months Later in Boot Camp._

Esdeath, Najenda, and Naruto were all seated calmly in the cafeteria, chomping down on whatever slop the cooks had made for the recruits. Esdeath sat next to Naruto, and Najenda across from them. "Najenda-chan, what was due for Tactics today?" Naruto questioned, looking up from his food to look at Najenda, who did the same. "Oh, uh…" Najenda tried to think of what was due for the tactics class, but was stopped when Esdeath cleared her throat. "We have the assignment about the best ways to siege an enemy camp, and why we chose what we did. If you don't have it done, you may copy off of mine Naruto." Esdeath offered, and was satisfied when Naruto's eyes lit up. "Aha! You are the best Esdeath-chan!" Naruto exclaimed, raising his hands into the air before dropping them around Esdeath, hugging her closely.

Najenda glared at Esdeath, but said nothing as she continued to eat her food. Naruto unwrapped his arms from around Esdeath, before finishing his food. "I'll be right back, I'm going to go hand in my tray." Naruto told the girls, before standing up and leaving the pair alone at the table. Najenda leaned forward and openly glared at Esdeath, said blue-haired girl doing the same.

The two girls merely glared at each other, both trying to win the unsung battle of wills. Sparks began to fly between the two girl's eyes, Their glares continued to worsen, the very aura around the two darkening, until Naruto calmly sat down next to Esdeath once more, the glares instantly ending as the two smiled at Naruto. Naruto sighed, reaching under the table to reach into his backpack, and retrieving a large book that was labeled, _Introduction to Field Medication and First Aid._ Najenda's eyes widened slightly upon seeing the title.

"Naruto… Why are you reading a first aid book?" Najenda asked, in a very confused manner. Naruto looked up from his page, looking at Najenda. "Oh yea, I forgot you don't know. Well, you see Najenda-chan, I want to become a medic. I've never been much of a fighter." Naruto explained, making Najenda nod slightly. "Well, that makes sense, but why join the army anyway?" Najenda's second question, made Naruto smile softly. "Well, I just want to help people. I can help wounded soldiers, I can help refugees. With knowledge on healing, there's no limit to people I can help." Naruto's smile made both Esdeath and Najenda's faces heat up as he looked off slightly, a serene smile on his face. "The world we are in is filled with pain and suffering. While the Empire has removed much of this, being Human means we can never truly be detached from suffering. But, if I have the opportunity to help the afflicted, isn't it my duty as a fellow human, to do so?" Naruto questioned Najenda, the look in his eyes making her swoon. "I, I suppose it is." Najenda softly stated, smiling at Naruto.

The calm moment was interrupted as a boy slammed his hand on the table, making the seated look up at him. He was a rather large boy, standing a forehead taller than Naruto with a cut body. His hair was black, pulled back into a small ponytail. His eyes were emerald green, and he had a vicious smirk on his face. "Haheh. A little boy who thinks he can help the world by becoming a medic. Hmpf. I'm a real man, girls. Why don't you come sit next to me?" The boy offered, trying to charismatically smile at Esdeath and Najenda, who both promptly glared at him. Naruto stood up, holding his hand up to stop the girls from getting up as well.

"What's your name? Mine's Naruto." Naruto calmly stated, holding his hand out to the other boy. The raven-haired boy slapped his hand away with a smirk. "Name's Kishka." The now-named Kishka responded, causing Naruto to nod slightly. "Ah, Kishka it is then. Well, would you like to tell me what's so bad about becoming a medic?" Naruto questioned, crossing his arms and sternly staring into Kishka's black eyes. "Ha, that's what you wanted? Well, that's simple. The army doesn't have any need for people like you. Why have medics when you can simply crush your enemies? Plus, you're a man, are you not? You're supposed to be a strong soldier, not a pussy medic." Kishka answered, smiling that ever-so annoying smile.

"Hmm. I must disagree. You see, medics will always be needed. You will not hate on my choice of occupation when you are bleeding on the ground, like the weakling you are." Naruto responded coldly, going to sit back down until a fist suddenly slammed into his face, causing the blonde to fly backwards onto the ground of the cafeteria. Naruto rubbed his cheek, staring up at Kishka with a glare. "You, YOU are calling ME a weakling!? That's funny coming from a little bitch that wants to be a medic!" Kishka yelled out angrily, stomping over to Naruto who was slowly getting up.

"Yea, you're right. I did call you a weakling. Because you are one." Naruto responded as he rubbed a bit of blood off of his lip, standing defiantly as Kishka approached. "Why you little bit-" Kishka was cut off as Naruto's fist embedded itself in his gut, causing the boy to crunch forward and fall to his knees. Naruto crouched down, lifting the boy's head using his index finger on his chin. "Kishka. Not only did you insult my dream, but you attacked a comrade. The Empire doesn't need people like you in it's army." Naruto calmly stated, before dropping the boy's head and standing up once more. He made his way back to the table, where he calmly sat down.

"Well Naruto, I must say. For a medic, you sure can throw a punch." Najenda said with an almost surprised tone, until Naruto suddenly held his cheek as anime tears rolled down his face. "That really hurt!"

 _Graduation._

"Hold your heads high! Your shoulders straight! Your Sword, pointed in the air! Hold your hearts firmly to your cause! And finally, never stop striving for greatness! From this day onward, you are all, SOLDIERS OF THE IMPERIAL ARMY!" The Headmasters cry rang out for miles, his voice sturdy and strong, inspiring. The Graduates all shouted in unison, raising their fists in triumph over their graduation. They had survived boot camp.

"Yatta!" Naruto shouted, jumping up and raising his fist in the air, once more after everyone was done. Naruto landed softly, promptly straightening his back and resting his hands on his hips, smiling victoriously. Najenda and Esdeath stood proudly in front of him, now 20 after the 4 year long boot camp. "We've finally done it, haven't we?" Najenda questioned, and Esdeath smiled. "Yes, Yes we have." Over the years, the animosity between the two had vanished, a strong friendship forming. Naruto's arms snaked around the both of them, pulling them in tightly for a hug as he smiled. "Hahah! It's finally over! No more homework, no more books, no more essays! Now I can go out and help people!" Naruto shouted excitedly, tears falling down his eyes as he thought about all the paperwork. Both Najenda and Esdeath smirked at the boy's attitude towards homework.

"I heard we were to be sent on our first mission within a week, I wonder what it'll be." Najenda off-handedly mentioned, walking beside the pair. Naruto looked at her for a moment, before lifting his hand to his chin and rubbing it in thought. "Hmm, it wouldn't be anything too big, considering we are fresh recruits… It'll probably be some sort of peace-keeping mission." Naruto reasoned, still rubbing his chin in thought as the trio walked towards the dorms to gather their stuff.

"I hope we will be sent on an invasion, so that I may dominate the enemies of the empire and crush them under my boot." Esdeath remarked casually with a flip of her hair, causing Naruto to sigh and Najenda to laugh. "Esdeath…" Naruto groaned, causing Esdeath to turn and look at him. "What? The strong live and the weak die, it's simple." Esdeath stated calmly, looking at Naruto with curiosity. "That's not true. If the weak died, I'd be dead already." Naruto replied softly, staring at Esdeath. Najenda and Esdeath both reeled back slightly at his words.

"It's true! Think about it, my combat grade has been falling since second year. I haven't put any effort into becoming any more combat-proficient. In our 1st year here, I could hold my own against anyone. But when 2nd year rolled around, I had to start using my knowledge as a medic to patch myself up. When 3rd year rolled around, they took me out of spars all together to heal the losers! That's means I'm pretty weak, ne?" Naruto questioned, turning to gaze calmly into Esdeath's eyes. The two looked at each other, before Esdeath smiled and hit Naruto on the head.

"You are the one exception. Even if you are weak, I will be here to defend you." Esdeath stated, looking down and walking a little faster than Naruto and Najenda. Najenda smirked, before snaking her arm around Naruto's neck and pulling him down, rubbing her knuckle harshly on his head with a cheeky smile. "Hehe, don't worry blondie! I'll be here too!" Najenda shouted happily, despite the struggles of the blonde in her arms.

 _Present._

Najenda inhaled slowly, the cigar in her mouth glowing at its burning end slightly, before suddenly she exhaled, opening her eyes as a cloud of smoke was blown out of her mouth. Using her right arm, the large robotic one, she withdrew the cigar from her mouth and stared at the assembled group in front of her. They were in a large office room, Najenda seated at the main desk.

Akame, the Murasame Wielder. Bulat, the Incursio Wielder. Sheele, the Extase Wielder. Mine, the Pumpkin Wielder. Leone, the Lionel Wielder. Lubbock, the Cross Tail Wielder. And Tatsumi… The Country Boy. This was Night Raid, the group of Assassins lead by Najenda. They worked for a brighter future for the Empire, working for the Revolutionary Army to take down the corrupted greed within the Capital. "The Mission I am assigning you all today will perhaps be the most dangerous mission of your lives. At any point in time, you may withdraw." Najenda began, shocking the members of Night Raid and making them focus, eyes steeled over as they waited for Najenda.

"It is a Capture mission, the target must be captured alive and well, and they are to be taken back here." Najenda continued, staring at the people assembled as she again inhaled some smoke from her cigar. Exhaling another gray cloud, Najenda continued. "The Target will be traveling to the outskirts of the Capital, alone. For 2 days. This is our only window of opportunity. Failure to capture the target could mean the secured failure of the Revolution." Najenda's words caused the gathered group to have a collective gasp. Tatsumi stepped forward, eyes widened and shaky. "Who is the target!? Who could case the entire failure of the Revolution?" Tatsumi's near-shout caused the group to stare intently at Najenda, who closed her eyes and sighed, removing her cigar from her mouth and placing it in the ashtray to her right.

Reaching behind her, Najenda grabbed and picture frame and looked down at it. The members noticed how her eyes softened and a small smile made its way onto her face. "The Target is a pacifist to the core. A Medic who's healing prowess is challenged by none. It is who this person is close to that could end the Revolution." Najenda stated, placing the photo down so that the members of Night Raid could see.

In the photo, stood a tall blonde man smiling happily in a standard recruit uniform, eyes closed as he snaked his arm around a smiling Najenda, the two raising a thumbs up to the camera. Lubbock suddenly gasped and pointed at the photo. "I remember him! Gah he was so infuriating! Every time I tried to get close to you, he'd suddenly show up and you'd forget all about me! GAH!" Lubbock shouted angrily, grabbing his head and pulling at his hair.

Najenda smiled softly, staring at the group. "Who is he?" Questioned Leone, still observing the photo. She did not believe her boss could ever smile like that, and it was strange to see her with both of her arms intact. "The man's name is Naruto. He was my friend from the first day of boot camp, all the way to losing my arm. Naruto is the only reason I am alive today." Najenda's words struck a cord within the assembled group, many staring at the man in the photo in a new light.

"Why's he so dangerous if he's a medic?" Mine questioned with a snort, until she noticed Najenda's darkened gaze. "It's not Naruto who's dangerous. It is Esdeath." Her words caused another collective gasp between the members, excluding Tatsumi who looked confused. "Who's Esdeath?" Tatsumi questioned, looking at the group for answers. Najenda answered quickly. "Esdeath is a general for the Imperial Army, and is widely considered to be the strongest person on the planet. She is Sadistic, cruel, mean. Downright evil. Her philosophy is that the strong live and the weak die. In her mind, there is only one exception to that rule. And that is Naruto. He is the only person who can calm her down. Hell, he's even gotten her to be merciful." Najenda snorted, and Leone merely stared at the man in the photo.

"So this Naruto fella, if we get him, what does that mean with Esdeath?" Leone questioned, looking up from the photo to look at Najenda. She smiled, closing her eyes. "Well, it is my belief that Naruto will be able to sway Esdeath to cut her ties from the Empire." Najenda watched as the members all stared at her as if she had gained a second head. Scratch that, third head. Bulat even began laughing. "Come on Boss, really?" Bulat questioned, stretching out his arms and staring at her as if she was insane. "Yes, really. If Naruto can't, then the only other option is to kill Esdeath. But, it would be much simpler if Esdeath were on our side. The war would almost be laughable at that point." Najenda muttered, before she stood up.

"Your mission begins now. Naruto will be in the outskirts tomorrow. Each of you must be on your top performance. I don't think Esdeath would allow Naruto to go alone." Najenda said off-handedly, watching as the entirety of Night Raid left her office. Najenda slumped down into her seat, sighing as she closed her eyes. Opening them slowly, Najenda reached out and grabbed the photo on her desk. Twisting it around to look at the man in the photo, Najenda smiled softly. _Naruto… I can't wait to see you again._

 _Outskirts of the Capital._

A tall blonde man's head bobbed as he walked, a happy spring to his step as he walked through the crowd. His smile never faded, as it glinted in the sun. The man's outfit was clearly military. He was wearing a long silver coat that opened at his waist, spreading out past his legs and flowing behind him, ending at his knees. His pants were of the same silver color, and he was wearing black boots that went to the middle of his calf, his pants tucked into them. On his left sleeve was a white band with a red cross, marking him as a medic. He was wearing white gloves that were stainless, a clean cloth that was soft to the touch. This man was Naruto, Esdeath's trusty medic who was usually never far from her side.

However, today was different. Naruto was requested some time off, and naturally, Esdeath had complied. Though, she was angered when he had mentioned he wanted to go alone. She couldn't wrap her head around why, and even tried to send some of her troops to protect. Naruto merely waved her off with a smile, telling her he would be fine. With some pleading, she allowed Naruto to go. The blonde was happy.

Naruto looked down at the sound of a small child falling in front of him, the small boy scraping his knee. The boy looked like he was about to cry as he pulled his now bleeding knee into his chest, so Naruto quickly crouched down and patted his shoulder. "Hey, it's okay little one. How about I fix this right up, okay?" Naruto offered softly, and smiled when the boy nodded despite his sniffles of tears. Naruto reached into a pouch behind him, hidden by his over coat, and pulled out a bundle of white bandages. Unraveling it, he began to weave the white cloth around the boy's knee. After about 5 wraps, he tore it with his mouth and tied a knot to keep it on the boys knee. Putting the bundle back in his pouch, Naruto pulled the boy up and patted his shoulder. "There ya go little one. Go on." Naruto said softly, shooing the boy away with a wave of his hand. The boy bowed with a small thank you, and then ran away towards his friends who began to check on his knee. Naruto smiled, sighing as he stood up and felt his knees pop.

A small distance away watching from a roof was Mine, who was tasked with watching the man for the day so that they knew where to capture him at night. She was watching with Pumpkin, and was reporting into the rest of the members with an ear piece. " _Target just stopped to bandage a child's knee. Target is continuing his walk again."_ Mine reported in, still watching Naruto through the scope of Pumpkin.

Naruto continued to wander throughout the day, stopping to help people wherever he could. Eventually, night took its course, and the blonde began to pick up his pace, seemingly walking towards a set location. The crowd had lessened, allowing Naruto to slip through the streets much easier. Mine found herself having to move a lot more than she did in the day. The other members were also trailing Naruto, trying to decipher where the blonde was going. Naruto's step lost its vibrancy the further he continued, his eyes losing their soft touch.

Eventually, the blonde turned into an alleyway, stopping and standing with his arms crossed, closing his eyes and looking up towards the night sky. "Why did you follow me?" Naruto's statement was simple, calm, without force in his voice. It was a modest question, but it was met with the sound of multiple people dropping down and cutting off both exits of the alley way. Naruto sighed softly, opening his eyes and looking in front of him. He was met with the sight of three figures in front of him. To his left, stood a fully-armored wielder of Incursio, the imposing armor shining in the moon. To his right, stood a blonde woman with ears, a tail, and two massive paws for hands. Ah, so she was Lionel's wielder. And, directly in front of Naruto, stood a raven-haired girl with Ruby-Red eyes, wielding a Katana Naruto knew well. Murasame. That meant this was Night Raid.

"Come with us without struggle and you will not be harmed." The girl in front stated, stepping forward and pointing Murasame at Naruto. The blonde smiled softly, staring into her eyes. "I have one question, answer that and I might go with you peacefully." Naruto offered, staring into the eyes of the ruby-eyed girl. The blonde narrowed her eyes, going to step towards him, but the Incursio wielder stopped her. "What is your question?" The Incursio wielder asked, his spear at the ready.

Naruto smiled softly, nodding to the Incursio wielder. "Thank you for you Hospitality. I would like to know, is Najenda-chan your leader?" Naruto asked with a cheeky smile, watching as the trio in front of him reacted slightly. Suddenly, from behind Naruto, strings flew at him and wrapped around his body, restraining the blonde forcefully. "Ack! Hey! I said I'd come peacefully!" Naruto shouted, until he looked up and saw a pawed fist coming towards his face. "Ah come o-" The fist connected, and Naruto's world went black.

 _Night Raid HQ_

Najenda rose from her sleep as the door to her office opened, and the members of Night Raid stepped into the room. She smiled at first, since this meant that they had captured Naruto, but then she frowned as Leone walked in with the blonde tied up on her back, asleep. More than likely knocked out by said blonde. Najenda sighed as they placed the blonde on the ground, roughly. "Do tell me why you restrained and most likely knocked him out?" Najenda questioned with an annoyed look as she rubbed her nose ridge. Leone stepped forward.

"He asked if you were leading our group. We figured he knew too much and Lubbock restrained him. To make it easier to leave with him, I knocked him out." Leone reported, causing Najenda to sigh and stand up. "Did he say he would go peacefully?" Najenda questioned walking around her desk with her hands behind her back and her eyes closed. "Yea, he said he would as long as he answered his question." Bulat responded, only to shrink in fear as the aura around Najenda darkened. "And yet you still restrained him. Wonderful." Najenda growled out, standing in front of Naruto.

Crouching down, Najenda ordered Lubbock to free him. Lubbock did so quickly, not wanting to face Najenda's wrath. Najenda leaned down, picking Naruto up and placing him in her chair, before shaking his shoulder slightly.

"Na...uto… ru...Na…" Naruto groaned as he fluttered his eyes open, feeling a pain in his head. _Agh...What hit me?_ Naruto thought to himself as he slowly opening his eyes, the world around him focusing slowly. Finally, the image of Najenda cleared in his eyes, the silver-haired woman leaning over him with a soft smile. Naruto got up quickly, standing with excited eyes as he looked at her. "Najenda-chan! Haha! It is good to see you!" Naruto shouted, wrapping his arms around the woman in a tight hug. Najenda responded with a hug as well, before snaking her arm around Naruto's head and rubbing her knuckle on his head with a cheeky smile. Naruto struggled to get out of her hold while the members of Night Raid watched the interaction in a shocked silence.


	2. Chapter 2

_I'd like to start this chapter off by thanking you all for your amazing support of this story! To see over 200 follows and 20 reviews off of 1 chapter, in 1 day… Just blows my mind. If any of you would like to support me more, go to my fanfiction bio and click the link. That'll send you to my YouTube Channel, and if you enjoy the content there, feel free to Subscribe!_

 _Anyway, here is Chapter 2 of The Medic._

 _Two Figures stood across from each other in an empty street of the Capital, their clothing fluttering in the wind. Neither figure moved, simply staring at each other. Both figures stood tall and proud, shoulders squared, and hands tucked neatly into the pockets of their overcoats. One figure was wearing a silver overcoat with a white band around the arm, while the other was wearing a black overcoat with a red band around the arm. One's hair was blonde as it fluttered in the wind, while the other's hair was black, like a void. The Blonde Figure's eyes were a cool sapphire, calm and collected. The Other Figure's eyes… Had a Black Sclera and A Red Iris, the Pupil a slit void. They stared at each other, the endless wind fluttering their overcoats._

 _Should an outsider to whatever conflict or situation the two were in looked at the two, they would notice that they were perfect mirrors of each other, though one was of a dark theme, and the other a much lighter theme. Their tan skin tones were strange to see in the Capital, but not overly strange._

" _ **You can't avoid using me forever, Naruto. There will be a day when helping everyone will only bring pain. Destruction. And when you release me from my harness, I will relish in the carnage you bring with each pull of my trigger."**_ _A booming voice echoed around as the Dark-Themed Figure addressed the now-named Naruto, grinning sadistically at him. Naruto did not move, or even react, his jaw stern and clenched as he calmly stared at the blackened figure in front of him._

" _And what should you do if I were to sacrifice myself to end said conflicts?" Naruto questioned with a raised brow, challenging the Darkened Figure, whose sadistic grin only widened._

" _ **You and I both know you would rather use me than sacrifice yourself. That way, you can continue helping people, ne?"**_ _The Darkened Figure fired back, not blinking in its sadistic resolve. Naruto didn't react once more._

" _What makes you so certain I would ever need to draw upon you again?" Naruto questioned, an extra large breeze fluttering up his overcoat, revealing a harness on his belt, seemingly for a handgun that would rest in the lower part of his back._

" _ **I can feel it within you. I cannot wait for the day you pull my trigger again. The sheer… ecstasy it brings me as you bring about destruction and pain with those icy steel eyes… It's euphoric. Answer me this, truly. What stops you from simply wielding me like your father? Perhaps it is the legacy you would leave behind? Perhaps it is because you bring about my true power? Or, perhaps, it is because you fear what you would become?"**_ _The figure fired off slowly, its gaze piercing into Naruto's. The blonde did not move, though his chest rose slightly higher as the figure finished._

" _I will answer you. You deserve that much. I do not wield you like my father, for that man wielded you for the wrong purpose. He wielded you to rule with an iron fist. When he passed, and you became rightfully mine, I knew I could not do the same. You are meant for something more than destruction. I could feel that the second I gripped you. I know you can feel it too. Otherwise, a destructive weapon like you would not accept a peaceful wielder like me." Naruto answered calmly, his sapphire gaze burning into the gaze of his mirror._

 _The Darkened Figure began to slowly turn into a black mist, starting from its feet._ " _ **Perhaps you are right. I do believe that if anyone could give me a purpose outside of death, it would be a man such as yourself. When the time comes, wield me well."**_ _The Figure's voice echoed all around as it finished becoming a black haze that floated towards Naruto, flowing into his overcoat and into the harness._

 _Real World._

Naruto groaned as he sat up, cold sweat cascading his body. His blonde hair stuck to his forehead, wet with sweat. Naruto never enjoyed the rest, or lack thereof, he got when meeting with the being that had become his partner until death.

Naruto swung his legs over the edge of the bed, annoyed at how the white sheets clung to his wet body. Growling, Naruto picked them off, before standing up and stretching with a pleased groan. After a quick yawn, Naruto looked around his room with a small smile, remembering how he had ended up in the almost regal looking room. He was glad he could see Najenda again. It had been an almost dreadfully long 2 years since he had last seen her. Naruto's eyes darkened as he remembered the event, but he shook his head and simply gathered his clothes, stepping out of his room to begin his day.

 _30 minutes later._

Naruto smiled happily as he walked towards the dining room, a spring in his step as he walked, his blonde hair bobbing up and down with each step. The blonde turned the corner, a little shocked to find that the raven-haired girl, Akame was her name if he remembered correctly, had beaten him to the Kitchen. Deciding it didn't matter, Naruto's stride did not break, until he stood right next to the girl, rolling up his sleeves. It was 4:30 in the morning, very early. Not even Najenda woke this early.

"Naruto-san? What are you doing here this early?" Akame questioned politely, staring at the man in slight shock. Naruto smiled at her as he turned on the faucet, waiting for the water to warm. "Ah, Akame-chan! I was planning on cooking breakfast, I usually cook for people anyway. Besides, it's not a big deal that I want to help, is it?" Naruto questioned, lathering his hands in soap before dipping them under the now hot water, cleaning them fo that he could cook without the threat of disease.

Akame shook her head slightly, staring at the man. "No, I suppose not. Though, usually I am the one who cooks the meals around here." Akame mentioned, watching the man wash his hands to make sure that A: He didn't coat them in poison, and B: So that he did it correctly. Naruto only smiled as he finished, drying his hands shortly after.

"Ah, that's so kind of you Akame-chan! Well then, perhaps I could be your assistant?" Naruto offered, leaning onto the counter and gazing into Akame's eyes. Akame smiled softly, nodding with a small, "I think that is acceptable." And thus, the two began to cook.

 _Later._

Najenda rubbed her eyes with her left hand as she walked towards the dining room, tired. She had woken up later than usual, which was odd. Usually, due to her military past, Najenda woke up and fell asleep according to a strict schedule unless it was a special circumstance. Regardless, Najenda shook her head as she entered the dining room, sounds of chatter and eating filling her ears.

Opening her eyes, she was greeted to the sight of the members of Night Raid all staring at Naruto as he spoke with excitement in his eyes. "And then Najenda was all like,"

 _Naruto's story._

 _Najenda lead a squadron of 30 men behind her, Naruto having been chosen as the medic for the mission. Najenda guided them proudly, before they came to a halt as they saw a group of bandits standing in their way. Najenda smirked, they were their targets after all. They outnumbered her squadron 2 to 1, but it did not matter in her eyes. Her squadron was the best, or at least they were strong enough to beat a few bandits._

" _Hey! Give us all of your money and valuables and we'll let you all live!" The lead bandit shouted, opening glaring and sadistically smiling at the group. Najenda walked forward, her Captain's coat fluttering in the wind as she gazed at the bandit in clear annoyance. "Heh, you really think we'll give you anything? Well, you'd be right," Najenda started, causing Naruto, who was in the crowd behind her, to widen his eyes slightly._

 _Najenda suddenly snapped her head up, a fire in her eyes as she shouted, "WE'LL GIVE YOU THE WORST DAMN ASS-KICKING OF YOUR LIVES!" With her shout, the men behind her joining in, Najenda launched forward._

 _Present._

"Hahah! Najenda and our squadron proceeded to beat down all of the nasty bandits. Of course, I naturally stayed back to help any wounded, though thankfully no-one got hurt. Ah, those were the times, I tell ya." Naruto muttered with a far away look, until an arm snaked around his neck and a knuckle drove into his skull.

"Haha! I remember the bandit mission! Those stupid bandits really thought they could extort us! I wonder if they still feel the same, rotting in a cell!" Najenda joyously exclaimed, letting go of Naruto who sighed. The Night Raid members who had listened to Naruto's story stared up at Najenda.

"Boss, this guy really there?" Leone questioned, pointing her thumb at Naruto. Najenda looked at her, before laughing. "Of course he was! Naruto's the best damn medic in the world! I swear, back in the day, you used to be able to patch up anything." Najenda stated, looking at Naruto with a nostalgic smile. The blonde smirked however.

"I still can. I just don't have to exercise my skills as often as I used to. Esdeath really knows how to pick em." Naruto casually remarked, though the Night Raid members including Najenda all darkened slightly. Naruto looked around at all of them, sweat dropping as their gazes all focused on him. _Was it something I said?_ Naruto thought, until he looked at Najenda, sho sighed and sat down at the table, linking her hands and resting her chin on them.

"Naruto, there is a reason I assigned them to capture you." Najenda began, prompting Naruto to sit down and focus on her, his eyes still holding their softness though. "Oh, and here I thought seeing me again would be a good enough reason." Naruto mocked, though he shut up as Najenda remained serious.

"Naruto, as you know we work for the Revolutionary Army, to purge the filth and corruption from the Empire." Najenda stated, knowing Naruto already knew. The blonde's eyes hardened and no emotion was gathered from his eyes or his posture, simply sitting there, observing Najenda who did the same to him. The Night Raid members tensed, ready to act should the blonde do anything.

"We believe our goals would be much simpler, not to mention easier, to complete if we had Esdeath at our side." Najenda explained, watching as Naruto leaned forward and linked his fingers in front of him.

"I think I can gather what you are hinting at. You want me to convince Esdeath to cut her ties with the Empire and join the Revolutionary Army, or Night Raid, am I correct?" Naruto questioned, satisfied as Najenda nodded seriously. Naruto sighed, rubbing his chin and closing his eyes in thought.

"Najenda-chan, this is a loaded request you've given me." Naruto muttered, opening his eyes and staring at the table in thought. The Night Raid members watched the man keenly, simply waiting for his answer. They didn't know what to do should the man simply refuse.

"This is a tough decision." "HOW!?" Naruto's mutter was heard by Tatsumi, who shouted and slammed his hands on the table, staring intensely at Naruto, who curiously looked up at him. "This Empire is corrupted! The Rich stay rich and the Poor stay poor! The strong prey on the weak, and no one does anything about it! Najenda said you are a caring man, someone who truly cares for the well being of everyone! So, explain to me since I can't get it, HOW is it hard for you to make a decision! To fight for justice!?" Tatsumi demanded, the Night Raid members staring intetly at the two, Najenda openly glaring at Tatsumi.

"Naruto, I'm sorr-" "Don't be." Naruto interrupted Najenda, un linking his fingers and looking into Tatsumi's eyes, his jaw clenched and tight. "Is it truly Justice you are fighting for, Tatsumi?" The questioned caught everyone off guard, shocking those present. Even Najenda. Naruto's eyes sharpened as he stared into Tatsumi's shocked eyes. "Huh? What'dya-" "I simply asked, Tatsumi, because while you do not see it, being on the inside of the Empire has given me insight into exactly what your _justified assassinations_ has caused within the everyday people's lives. For example, a few months back, a Council Members was murdered, presumably by Night Raid considering he only had a single cut on his body." Naruto cast a glance at Akame, but didn't say anything, his implication hanging in the air.

"The man's two daughters, merely 6 and 8, ended up orphaned. From there, they were sent to a poor orphanage and were later, unfortunately, sold into the human trafficking market. I believe in a peaceful world much like all of you, but Night Raid's methods are simply too… partial. You are not thorough in your pitiful little attempts at _justice._ Up until now, everyone you killed hasn't had any impact on anything within the capital, but it has greatly hurt their families and friends. Everyone you have killed has already been replaced, in some cases but better, good-hearted people. In some cases, by people worse. In most cases however, they are merely the same level of greedy, corrupted as the person who you all killed. Night Raid has to look towards the heavy hitters within the Empire, the Capital, to truly make a difference. Even the Revolutionary Army. They preach about wanting peace for this Kingdom, and yet all they do is ransack small villages that have accepted protection from the Imperial Army simply because " _Those who ally themselves with corruption shall be purged."_ It's disgusting. The Revolutionary Army is nothing more than people searching for a purpose, and pleading their innocence with something as flawed as their own _justice._ Before I even make a decision to leave the empire, let alone get _Esdeath,_ someone very close to me, involved, I have to decide whether I can turn this little misguided and pitiful attempt at peace into something worth my time." Naruto spoke with a cold, calculated voice. Those gathered, excluding Najenda, felt their stomachs sink as one man brutally dismantled everything they believed and had done.

Naruto sighed, taking his hands away from his mouth and placing one at the ridge of his nose, rubbing it with clear stress. "I am sorry for reacting the way I did, but it had to be done. Both the Revolutionary Army and Night Raid are fighting for a good cause, but they are misguided in how they fight. Having been in the Empire for as long as I have, I know how it works. Perhaps not as well as Honest does, but I know its inner workings. I believe we would be able to truly help people, but there is still a chance we may just cause more pain then has already been inflicted. And, yes Tatsumi, I am a man who hates to see any human in pain. So, you must see how much of a turmoil it is to see people die not only in the Revolutionary Army, but also the empire. No human who is innocent should have to die." Naruto roughly ground out, his voice gruff and his eyes cold. The blonde stood up quickly, turning and walking away.

While the members of Night Raid began to discuss what Naruto had said between themselves, Najenda's eyes focused on Naruto's back. As the man got up, the motion caused his overcoat to rise a little, and Najenda had gotten a small glimpse of a hand gun she knew. A black hand gun, more like a hand cannon, glinted in the light slightly from its holster on Naruto's waist. Its coloring was black like the void, and the small, blood red hammer almost glared at her. Najenda could only ponder as to what such a vile weapon was doing in Naruto's possession, but even during their boot camp days, the blonde avoided the question like a plague. Najenda had asked Esdeath, who had stated that she too, hand no semblance of a clue as to why Naruto had it. Najenda merely sighed, thinking carefully about what the blonde had said. It seems some changes had to be made, both within Night Raid, and the Revolutionary Army as a whole.

 _With Naruto._

Naruto was not in a good mood. That discussion at breakfast had greatly bothered him, more so than he put on. Naruto knew that Night Raid and the Revolutionary Army could be great paths towards his dream, his goal of world peace. But, he also knew that, as they were, they were only going to get more people hurt. Naruto sat down on his bed with a sigh, the bed creaking as Naruto sat on its edge, deep in thought. Naruto knew he could not make the decision before his two days time in the Capital was over. And, Naruto knew that should Esdeath discover who had 'taken' him, there would be hell. With stressed eyes, Naruto retrieved a pen and paper, and began to write a letter for Najenda.

After he was finished, Naruto left the letter on his bed after folding it. He was a guest, naturally he would make sure the room was as clean as it was when he arrived, before he opened the window, leaping out. The letter explained that Najenda would have her answer in a month, and that Naruto had left without any ill intention towards the group, or even a sour taste in his mouth.

 _In the Past. Naruto is 7._

 _Naruto looked at the boy in front of him. He had black hair, in the same style as Naruto's. He was wearing Naruto's clothing, though everything was mainly black. However, the most striking part, was the black Sclera and Red Iris of the boy staring at Naruto, with a bored look._

" _ **Heh, you think you can wield me, boy?"**_ _The boy's voice was deep, booming. It echoed around wherever they were, which was an everlong expanse of white. Naruto did not register what the boy in front of him had said. "A-Ano, where are we?" Naruto questioned, looking at the boy in front of him for an answer. Said boy grinned slightly, showing enlarged canines._

" _ **We are in your head, boy. You foolishly thought you could wield me like your father before you."**_ _The boy explained, making Naruto remember how he had gotten here. His father, had died trying to protect the boy. Though, even his trusty hand gun had failed in protecting his life. Naruto remembered watching the man's body fall. He could remember the noise of the gun hitting the ground, a piercing clank. After that, Naruto could not remember anything but a blur._

" _ **It seems I must repeat myself. Boy, did you truly believe you could wield me?"**_ _The boy asked again, making Naruto realize what he was talking to. Suddenly, Naruto growled. "What makes you think I'd want to wield you? I'm only trying to escape alive, and you seem like my only option. After that, I plan on discarding you." Naruto declared, glaring at the boy in front of him, who merely smiled a sadistic, face-splitting smile._

" _ **Is that true boy? Well then, perhaps I will allow you to wield me, if only this once."**_ _The boy in front of Naruto growled out, his voice booming. He began to fade into a black mist that receded into Naruto's palm, forming a black hand gun, more like a cannon due to its sheer size. Naruto could barely grip the thing. Suddenly, without warning, the white surrounding Naruto began to get sucked into the black void that was the handgun, as a blood red slowly crept up Naruto's hand and leaked onto the gun's hammer._

 _The world around Naruto gained focus as the boy opened his eyes, finding himself standing with the massive gun his father wielded in his hands. His home was burning around him, and a crowd of men stood in front of him, grinning maniacally. "Oh look, the little boy thinks he can succeed where his father didn't. Let's teach him a lesson." The lead stated cruelly, before approaching Naruto slowly._

 _The blonde began to back away, until a voice boomed within his head._ " _ **You said you would wield me boy. So, do so!"**_ _The voice commanded, and Naruto felt and watched as his hand raised on its own, intimidatingly towards the group in front of him. "Oh? Are you really planning on firing that gun? Your father couldn't pierce Ōkinabōei, (Great Defense), what makes you think you can?!" Shouted the leader, slamming a massive shield down in front of him. It glistened in the fire, and Naruto swore he saw two massive eyes come to life as the man slammed it down._

 _Naruto's arm shook, until the voice returned._ " _ **Pull back the hammer."**_ _Naruto complied, slowly pulling back the blood red piece of metal, a satisfying click following._ " _ **Take a deep breath. Hold it in and aim towards the man's shield."**_ _Again, Naruto complied, taking in a massive breath and holding it while he pulled the gun's sights over the massive shield that proceeded to slowly move the crowd behind it forward._

" _ **Fire."**_


	3. Chapter 3

_If there was one thing Naruto had mixed feelings on, it was memory. On one hand, it was great in the sense that it allowed him to cherish moments close to his heart, not to mention remember useful and or vital information such as how to close a wound using only medical tape and bandages. However, on the other end, Naruto's memory was sickeningly clear when it came to events that he didn't want to remember. In a sense, Naruto's memory was cruel._

 _Naruto could clearly remember how his hand stopped shaking when he breathed. How he could feel the wind serenely blow flutter his dirty bangs slightly as a moment of true silence was held as the small boy held the massive gun pointed at the small army that had amassed in front of him. Those moments were peaceful, despite being so crudely covered in blood and being eaten by the flames around them. But then, Naruto would feel as the tendon in his index finger began to constrict, pulling said finger back along with the trigger being gripped by it. Then all hell broke loose._

 _Naruto felt the shot before he heard the noise it made. The sheer force it sent through his arm actually caused it to fly out of his hand, and it had shattered his young hand. It rang in his ears, threatening to deafen him. Naruto's world had become a pale, ringing echo. But, suddenly time reversed, and he watched it once more. This time, it was not the noise it focused on, but the visuals._

 _Naruto watched as the hammer flew forward, striking the gun, before the barrel opened up and a void erupted out of the gun, like slimy tendrils lathering the air and dripping onto the ground. Naruto's eyes had caught the massive spike of power at the front of the barrel, as the colors around the barrel became inverse, greens becoming reds, whites becoming blacks. And then, the little world around the barrel imploded on itself as a tiny, blurred object smashed through it and disappeared towards the group in front of Naruto._

 _Then, all at once, Naruto's hearing and vision would become incredibly clear as he watched the bullet travel towards the group. As the bullet neared the mighty shield Teigu, the unbreakable defense, the eyes Naruto had seen before became fearful, shriveling backwards in a vain attempt to escape the small bullet. The bullet collided with the shield, and Naruto watched as true agony rippled through the eyes of the shield, as it began to crack and shatter as the bullet continued to simply spin forward, not even being bothered in the slightest by the shield. It continued through Naruto watched as geysers of blood spewed upwards into the air, painting the blue sky red. The clouds gained snarls as they lapped at the blood._

 _Naruto heard the groans, the screams._ _ **The Snaps. The Gurgling. The Squishing.**_ _He heard it all. Naruto's eyes caught sight of the second-long agony that the army in front of him experienced, before they all merely stopped existing, a white flash followed by a mighty bang, leaving Naruto's ears ringing and his eyes burning._

 _As the sense-torture ended, Naruto found himself standing in the middle of a sea of blood and flesh, some clinging onto him. Naruto looked down with wide eyes at the fragments of the once mighty Teigu, Ōkinabōei, beneath him. Naruto bent down, kneeling in the blood which rose to cover his knees, and touched one of the fragments._

 _It 'popped', and became dust that floated away in the wind._

" _ **You remember. I know you do. The sheer power you felt when you pulled that trigger."**_ _A voice echoed all around the young Naruto, morphing his world into the street where they had met a week prior. Suddenly, the blood was gone, but Naruto still felt its sting on his hands. Standing up with a groan, and popping his knees, Naruto stared into the eyes of his darkened counterpart._

" _I will never forget what it feels like to fire you. I do not believe there will ever be a human who could forget that feeling." Naruto replied honestly, staring at the sadistic eyes of the figure across from him, who began to smile._

" _ **You are right. My power is not one to be forgotten. Even by those that shoved me into this pistol."**_ _The figure remarked, a replica of its real-world self in its hand as it waved it around as it talked. Naruto merely watched._

" _ **I put up a good fight you know. It took some of their, at the time, newly made Teigu to take me down. Heheh. I'll never forget the Emperor's eyes as I slaughtered his men one by one."**_ _The figure smiled in remembrance, before it suddenly glared at Naruto while continuing to smile._

" _ **I know you doubt it, but there will be a day when you will have to use me again. How about I show you a possibility, ne? For good ol' times sake? For my partner? My friend? Hehehehehehhhh…"**_ _The laughed died down slowly as the figure disappeared, the hand cannon landing softly in Naruto's grip, who stared at it in silent resolve. He would brave whatever hell the figure dreamt up._

 _Naruto's resolve broke the instant he saw a blade pierce Esdeath's stomach, blood shooting out of the woman's mouth as she cried out in agony. Naruto rushed to her side, whatever had injured her disappearing. "Esdeath! Esdeath! Don't close your eyes! Look at me!" Naruto cried out as he placed the bleeding woman's head in his lap, grabbing her cheeks with sheer desperation. As she struggled to keep her eyes open, tears spilled down Naruto's eyes. "Esdeath! Please! Look at me! Remember when I got you out of your village! Remember how I made you look at me so you didn't look at the bodies! So you didn't look at your burning home!? Do it again! Look at me! Please Esdeath!" Naruto's cries became more and more desperate as his throat tore with his agony._

 _Seeing that she wasn't responding, Naruto quickly went to her wound to try and stop the bleeding. As he continued and continued to try again and again, nothing worked. The wound continued to practically vomit blood. Naruto could feel the hot tears roll down his face as he tried in vain. "Esdeath please! Stay awake! Look at me!" Naruto's cries ended as Esdeath disappeared, causing the blonde to get up quickly and look around himself, his surroundings changing to a forest. He twisted and turned, until Najenda appeared in front of him._

" _Najenda! Look ou-" Naruto's cries were interrupted as a large scythe cut through Najenda's back, creating a deep gash in her back. She fell forward, but disappeared into dust once more. Naruto looked down as tears fell down his eyes. "Stop… Please." Naruto begged as he fell to his knees, the noises of his precious people's cries of agony ringing in his ears._

Naruto shot up in the bed he was in, once more covered in sweat. Naruto's breathing was ragged, and his eyes were wide as they dashed around the room. It was familiar. Naruto looked down and to his left, catching the sight of a peacefully sleeping Esdeath. Her blue hair was cascaded down her back, and she was turned towards him, smiling softly in her sleep. Naruto's breathing was still ragged. Leaning over to her slowly, Naruto ran his hand through her hair, dragging it slowly down until he cupped her cheek. Naruto's breathing calmed down slightly as he assured himself that Esdeath was alive and well, and that it was merely a dream he had.

Looking at the shining moon, Naruto sighed as he swung his feet over the edge of the bed. He was still covered in cold sweat, and he felt as if his own skin was constricting him. Pulling at his bare chest, Naruto groaned when it did nothing to relieve him. With a burdened sigh, Naruto slowly rose from the bed, as quietly as he could. Esdeath was at least getting a good sleep, no need to disturb her simply because Naruto couldn't do the same. Naruto's feet made no sound as they tapped against the cold floor, even when he exited her room and wandered down the halls in only his trousers, which were cut at the middle of his calf.

Naruto ran a hand through his hair as he sat down on a random seat next to a window. He leaned down, supporting his head with his arms locked on his knees. He tried to control his breathing, but that dream had really shaken him up. _What is with that lately? This is the first time it's deliberately caused nightmares… and they were so real._ Naruto thought as he gripped his chest, feeling the sporadic beating underneath his pectorals.

Leaning back against the wall, the cold surface helping Naruto slightly, the blonde began to look at the moon as it was shining above his head. _I can't help but worry about the future now. What is going to happen? I still need to decide on the whole Night Raid thing, I need to figure out what's going on with_ _ **it,**_ _and we have the Northern Invasion tomorrow…_ Naruto's thoughts were scattered as he simply stared at the moon, calming down as he stared at it.

Naruto sighed heavily with stress thickly layered in his throat as he stood up, making his way back to the bedroom slowly. His feet once more making no noise as he entered the room, closing the door and turning around to find Esdeath sitting up in bed, the blankets pulled up with her as she looked at him with a worried gaze. "Can't sleep?" Her soft voice resonated within Naruto's head, calming his raging thoughts. The blonde nodded as he walked towards the bed, sitting down on the edge, facing away from Esdeath as he hunched over.

"I… I had a nightmare." Naruto began, not worried in the slightest about showing weakness in front of Esdeath. Naruto felt the bed shift as Esdeath moved to sit next to him, placing her hands in her lap as she stared at her lap. "May I ask what happened in it to make you so riled up?" Esdeath questioned calmly, attempting to understand the situation before trying to comfort Naruto.

Naruto sat silent for a few minutes, before he rose his head and stared into Esdeath's eyes. "Y-You were in it Esdeath-chan." Naruto's head dropped back down again. "I remember it clearly. The blade, it glimmered as it was driven into your stomach. The sheer feeling of hopelessness I felt. _Your Scream._ " Naruto's voice was hollow as he continued, Esdeath quietly listened beside him.

"I tried, I tried so damn hard." Naruto's breath hitched as a lone tear traveled down his cheek. "No matter what I did, no matter what I tried… You were still in pain. You were still dying. The wound, it had created a puddle of blood around us. I screamed at you to stay with me, but you just vanished into dust, fluttering in the wind." Naruto ended, glaring at the ground as he clenched his fist.

Naruto felt a soft hand grasp his cheek slightly, a warm thumb wiping away his lone tear as the hand tugged his head to the left. Naruto was met with the sight of Esdeath serenely smiling at him, her blue eyes shining with worry. "It's alright Naruto. Can you hear me?" Esdeath's question was odd, but Naruto merely nodded as she continued to caress his cheek. "Can you see me?" Again, Naruto nodded.

Esdeath pulled Naruto's head into the crook of her neck softly. "Can you smell me?" Again a nod. Esdeath grasped Naruto's hand with both of hers. "Can you feel me?" Once more, Naruto nodded. Esdeath gently pulled the blonde up to meet her gaze, softly grasping the sides of his head. "Then that means I am alive, and I am hear, no?" Esdeath's innocent question was voiced with so much love that Naruto's heart skipped a beat as he stared at her face.

Naruto smiled softly, leaning forward and caressing Esdeath's cheek with his thumb. "Esdeath-chan… Thank you." Naruto whispered, staring lovingly into the eyes of the woman in front of him. Esdeath smiled softly once more, before grabbing Naruto's shoulders and falling back onto the bed, causing Naruto to hover over her slightly. She reached up and wrapped her arms around his neck, pulling him down into a small kiss which the blonde returned. "I love you, Naruto-kun. Don't you let anything in your life make your forget that. Even if you stop loving me, even start to hate me, do not ever forget that I love you with all of my heart, Naruto." Esdeath whispered into Naruto's head after the kiss.

Naruto pulled back slightly, staring into Esdeath's eyes, before leaning down and capturing her lips once more. Untangling, Naruto wrapped his arms around Esdeath and pulled her close, rolling the pair onto their sides. "I love you too Esdeath. And nothing in this world will change that." Naruto whispered into her ear, causing the blue-haired woman to smile as she rolled over and snuggled into Naruto's body, draping his arm over her shoulder. "Don't ever leave me, Esdeath." Naruto pleaded over her shoulder, a small hint of fear in his voice. Esdeath smiled. "It will never cross my mind, Naruto."

 _Eh, I don't write fluff or anything like that at all. Did I do well? Perhaps if you guys enjoyed it, I might try a lemon later if enough people like it. Anyway, this is a double-upload for me, since I just couldn't stop wanting to write this story._


	4. Chapter 4

_Let me clear up some confusion before I start this chapter. I have become aware that, due to bad writing on my part, it is unclear whether or not Naruto returned to Esdeath in the allotted time, i.e the two days she gave him to go to the outskirts of the capital. One reviewer wanted to see what her reaction to Naruto not showing up on time would've been. However, the thing is, Naruto was on time. When Najenda mentioned that they had two days to get Naruto, and they left immediately, it was supposed to be that they got him that next day. Naruto then was reintroduced, and woke up the next day in the Night Raid base. After the breakfast and all that, Naruto left via the window, the same day. This would mean that it was the second day Naruto was given, and he would presumably make his way back to Esdeath after leaving Night Raid. Sorry, just wanted to clear up any confusion._

Naruto gazed upon the sea of citizens that watched him and Esdeath approach the Northern Entrance of the Capital on horseback, the pair intending to meet with Esdeath's army and begin their trek towards the Northern Tribes. The tribes had been causing quite a disturbance, so naturally Honest had called upon Esdeath to correct that issue. It helped that there was supposedly a hero of the North who would never lose as long as he wielded his spear with his people behind it. Esdeath, obviously, wanted to break the man and make him lick her boots in front of his people. Naruto was too absorbed in his thoughts to care about what Esdeath was going to do to the man. Being that he had been on every single one of Esdeath's missions, Naruto had seen her cruelty first hand. Naruto stepped in when she got to hurting innocents though. Esdeath had, at one point, planned on ordering her men to rape and pillage an entire village, but Naruto swiftly and cleanly put an end to that thought process. While he allowed Esdeath to indulge in the darker parts of her personality on those that deserved it, never would he allow her to do it to innocents. Let alone an entire village of innocents.

Naruto sighed, something he found himself doing often in the past week. The Citizens below all cheered and reached out to touch the General to Naruto's right as they strolled past, Esdeath replying with a soft smile and even a few waves here and there. She didn't care for the attention, but it helped to keep morale up if she was nice to at least those on her side. Naruto was too absorbed in his thoughts to notice or care as the Citizens reached for him.

Within the crowd, a tall man gazed at Naruto. His hair fell over his face and shadowed his eyes, a grin gleaming in the sun as he watched Esdeath and Naruto approach the massive gateway to the outside of the Capital. The man chuckled, his grin gaining a sadistic and downright evil glint as he intently stared at Naruto. "I do hope you have a safe travel and easy mission in the North… Aniki." The man whispered with a malicious aura.

Naruto jumped slightly, turning around to look at the crowd of civilians behind him. He swore he had felt something, evil. It had pierced his thoughts and allowed him to focus on the present rather than the future. Naruto sighed, shaking his head. He was getting too paranoid for his liking.

 _Outskirts of the Northern Lands, Base of Operations for Invasion._

Naruto relaxed in his seat, pulling one leg over the other as he rested his cheek on his hand, smirking with closed eyes as he listened to the debate between Esdeath and the higher-ups of her army, all below her of course. Seated was Ex-General Liver, Daidara, and Nyau, Esdeath's _Three Beasts,_ said moniker always made Naruto laugh considering the smallest in their group looked much too small to be called a Beast. There was Esdeath herself, Naruto seated to her left, and numerous squad captains and Lieutenants seated as well. They were bickering amongst themselves, trying to decide on the best plan of attack.

Personally, Naruto had always found these meetings to be pointless. All the bickering, yelling, name-calling… It all eventually lead to the same plan of attack: Attack. Esdeath's army was mighty, the strongest within the entire Empire. Considering who their General was, that made sense. Naruto groaned, adjusting in his seat and rubbing the bridge of his nose. As they bickered, a woman dressed in medicinal clothing much like Naruto walked up to the man, handing him a steaming tea with a small smile. "Here you go, Naruto-sama." The girl said softly, with a deep bow. "Thank you Hiko-san." Naruto thanked with a kind nod and smile. Naruto supposed being the Head Medic had its perks, mainly in having an entire medical staff there to assist him in the Infirmary Tent.

Esdeath smirked beside Naruto as the blonde sat up a little straighter so that he could properly drink his tea. "It will never cease to amaze me you know?" Esdeath mentioned off-handedly to Naruto, gazing calmly at him. The blonde looked at her as he took a drink of his tea, before he calming held it in his palms. "And what would ' _it'_ be, Esdeath-chan?" Naruto fired back, calmly smiling as he looked into her blue eyes. Esdeath smirked, drawing back and placing a hand on her chest and bending her head down in a taken-back manner.

"Ah, so Bashful! You know exactly what I am talking about." Esdeath teased with a grin, watching as Naruto giggled along side her. "Yes, I suppose I do. You are talking about my prowess with a scalpel, ne?" Naruto responded rhetorically, taking a long sip of his tea. Esdeath nodded slightly. "Not just the scalpel, you know. Everything you do, if it's medical, is simply brilliant. You are as talented as I am strong, Naruto." Esdeath told him as-a-matter-of-factly. Naruto had the decency to blush.

"Heheh, thanks Esdeath-chan. I suppose all those years paid off." Naruto remarked, until he opened his eyes and noticed that the entire ensemble was looking towards the pair in silence, clearly waiting for something. Esdeath sighed as she removed her hand from her cheek, standing up slowly. "We shall do as we always do. Attack, head-on, without stopping. Overwhelm them." Esdeath stated, clearly annoyed.

As the group got up to leave, Liver leaned over to Daidara, peering darkly into the man's eyes. "You know what to do." Liver whispered calmly, before standing up as well, stuffing his hands in his pockets and leaving with Nyau. Daidara grinned madly as he stood as well, Belvaac swinging in its loose harness on his large back.

Naruto left the tent with Esdeath, peering around the massive camp made of tents and campfires. Soldiers all around laughed and told stories as they sat around the fires, clanking their drinks and stuffing their faces with meat. The day before an Invasion and they all just get piss-drunk. Naruto shook his head. Perhaps it was good, it kept Naruto's branch in business. Drunk soldiers meant good pay for the Medics. As the pair walked, Naruto watched the faces of the soldiers. There was not a care in the world in their drunken eyes. Esdeath's army had nothing to fear. For multiple reasons. For starters, they were strong. Incredibly strong for mere foot soldiers. Being selected to become part of Esdeath's army was like getting selected for the Elite, because it was. Second, their captains, lieutenants. Their tactical prowess was the best the Empire could offer, second to none, except perhaps Honest's manipulative powers. And lastly, was Esdeath herself. The woman could simply decimate any enemy her army could not. The sadistic woman was the strongest in the Empire. Some Soldiers, those who were unfortunate to find themselves in the Medical Tent, also attributed their safety to Naruto and his squad of Medics. The man's hands could only fail to fix death.

Naruto's thoughts were broken as the pair silently approached the two largest tents in the camp. The first, the one to the left, was the largest. It had a wide opening, with a massive White Patch above the entrance that was emblazoned with a red cross, marking it as the Medical Tent. All Infirmary-type tents were always the largest, as they required the most room. The one to the left, the second largest, was closed off and silent. It was Esdeath's personal tent, to which only two people, herself and Naruto, were permitted to enter without fear of instant death. Esdeath always placed her tent closest to the one Naruto took residence in during invasions. It kept her mind at ease and her Naruto close.

"This is where we part, unfortunately. That is, unless you'd like to spend the night, Naruto-kun." Esdeath offered as she twirled around to stare into Naruto's eyes, a lustful and mischievous smile adorning her face. Naruto smiled, leaning down and capturing her lips, before turning her around and lightly pushing her. "I'll decline for now Esdeath-chan. Keep your mind where it belongs. On the battlefield." Naruto called to the woman as she lifted the flap to her tent. She stopped and looked at him with a smile. "It belongs on you, Naruto-kun, and that is where it'll stay, with my heart as its companion." Esdeath's words made Naruto fluster slightly as she allowed the flap to fall to the floor, closing her tent off from the world. Naruto shook his head slightly, entering the Medical Tent and making his way towards his assigned bed, the largest naturally. Esdeath would not settle for anything but the best for her Naruto.

 _The Next Day, Medics Tent._

Naruto's eyes were calm, focused as he carefully extracted the metal arrowheads from a soldier's back, the man groaning in slight pain, Naruto's medication making the pain a dull ache. Extracting the last one and letting it drop on his metal tray with a loud 'Clank', Naruto patted the man's back and told him, "There, they are all out Hideka-san. Now, I'll just need to bandage you up and then you are free to rest." Naruto explained, the man on his table nodding his head appreciatively. "Thank you, Naruto-sama. You really are the be-" The man's appreciative words were drowned out by the noises of multiple people groaning as Daidara entered the tent, ungracefully dropping three injured men off of his shoulder and turning to exit the tent.

"Excuse me, come back here Daidara." Naruto's forceful voice rang out, unknowing to the blonde it made Daidara smile sadistically, though it vanished as the man turned around. Naruto stepped away from his patient, looking around and shouting orders. "Rico, finish this man's bandages. Yuri, Fuka, help those injured onto operating tables and have Hiruzen and Yaiga examine them." Naruto barked out quickly, before approaching the seemingly bored Daidara with an intense look.

"You listen here, Daidara-san, this is the medical tent. When you bring in patients, they are to be treated with respect and carefully placed onto the operating tables, otherwise you cause your fellow soldiers pain and adding to the potential risk of infection." Naruto chided, causing Daidara to chortle. "Heh, they aren't worth the precaution if they were weak enough to be injured." Daidara coldly remarked, smirking as Naruto's eyes were lit alive with a fire.

"You'd better watch that tone, Daidara." Naruto growled out, glaring into the man's eyes. Daidara smiled sadistically. "Really? And what're you gonna do, Blondie?" The man questioned, trying to be intimidating, but Naruto groaned and rubbed the ridge of his nose with his hand. "Daidara… you are blonde too…" Naruto muttered, before looking up. "I will have to inform Esdeath of your blatant disrespect of your fellow soldiers. I suppose your punishment will be up to her. Now, leave." Naruto ordered, shooing the man away as he went over to a box of latex gloves, grabbing two and going to put them on, until Daidara growled.

"For some reason, I don't think Esdeath will get your message, Teme." Daidara stated, rising to tower over Naruto who turned around and looked at him, 3 feet of dirt between the two. "And why is that, Daidara?" Naruto questioned with a keen eye, his eyebrow raised. Daidara's grin stretched across his face, gleaming in the light and perfectly matching his pupil-less eyes.

"Because you will be dead!" Daidara shouted out, rushing Naruto and attempting to hit him. Naruto's eyes widened, and he dashed back, watcing as Daidara's massive fist swung down and knocked over a tray of medical tools. The staff gathered watched in fright. "I see. Hiko-san, hand me a scalpel." Naruto's voice was calm, cold. His eyes were ice blocks as he stared into Daidara's insane eyes, the man hunched over and waiting for what Naruto was going to do, keen on enjoying Naruto's crushing death. The small woman behind Naruto gasped slightly, looking at Naruto in shock. "Wh-What?" Hiko questioned, looking at the back of Naruto's head and too his outstretched right hand.

Naruto's head twisted and he looked over his shoulder, allowing Hiko to see the coldness in his eyes. "I said. Hand. Me. A. Scalpel." Naruto said, slower this time, but with the same icy tone. The two latex gloves were still in his left hand, while his right was outstretched, waiting for the tool he requested. Hiko nodded with wide eyes, frantically turning around and searching for the small metal knife. Grabbing it, Hiko quickly turned around and placed it in Naruto's hand.

The blonde pulled it up to his face, his tan hand gripping it softly, before he began to flip the scalpel in the air. "Daidara, let me tell you something about scalpels. You see," The scalpel flipped in the air, glinting. "A doctor, or medic, whatever, has to easily be able to cut whatever flesh is in the way." Naruto began, the scalpel descending and the blade landing in between Naruto's index and middle finger. He flipped in into the air once more, "It has been said that the Scalpel's of a Doctor are a sharp as Extase, able to cut whatever they must in order to do the surgery." The scalpel landed flat in Naruto's palm, the blonde grabbing it and adjusting it into a knife-like grip.

Suddenly, Daidara's figure appeared in front of Naruto, his right fist headed towards Naruto's head. Naruto ducked quickly, extending his right foot in front of both of Daidara's legs and brutally elbowing the back of the man's ribcage. The blonde cried out as he fell forward, roughly landing on his chest. Naruto turned swiftly around, and pressed his foot roughly onto the man's back. "Let me give you a demonstration." Naruto muttered, gripping the wrist of the arm that had tried to hit him, pulling it back at a bad angle. Daidara grunted, growling from his position on the ground. He struggled to overpower the blonde's foot, but found that he could not do so.

"You tried hitting me with this arm. Let's see how you fare without it." Naruto grunted, leaning down and cutting into the man's shoulder, the scalpel easily sliding through, though Naruto pushed it further, the blade hilting and cutting all the way through the muscle. Daidara began to scream as Naruto dragged the scalpel all around his shoulder, careful to miss the axillary artery. He didn't want the man to die just yet. Once he was done making a full circle cut around the man's arm, he dropped it limply onto the floor, Daidara having lost all connection to his arm, disregarding veins and the like.

Naruto released his foot on the man's back, grabbing him by the collar bone and pulling him onto his push, shoving the man further away from him. Naruto held up the latex gloves, going through the motions to put them on. It came as a shock that Naruto did not have any blood on his hands, despite the bloody actions he had just done. With the bloody scalpel held securely in his teeth, Naruto spoke as he got his hands through the gloves. "Come on then. You underestimated me, I can see it in your eyes. Come get me, for real this time." Naruto droned on, the scalpel slightly muffling his voice.

Daidara growled, going to lift his dominant right hand, and finding that no matter what he did, his right arm would not move. Realizing he could not use that arm, Daidara's stupid mind decided he could succeed with his left arm, if he used his full speed. The blonde man blurred, suddenly appearing in front of Naruto with his left fist pulled back.

Naruto suddenly dropped down, Daidara falling past him as a streak of blood flew with him, Naruto's scalpel glinting in the sun as he held it in a reverse grip, extended ahead of his body as he got back up. Naruto looked down, his eyes dark as he watched blood soak the man's pants, around the back of his foot. Naruto had cut his Achilles Tendon. The man could no longer stand even if he wanted to. Naruto pressed forward, even as Daidara turned around and attempted to get up, only to fall back down with a frustrated grunt.

"Eh, I'll kill you!" Daidara shouted out, the aggressive man pulling back the axe from his back and launching it at Naruto. The blonde merely sidestepped, the axe going past his head. Daidara grinned, remembering how his Teigu, Belvaac, would seek out the target until it connected. Suddenly, Naruto turned around, slashing downward with a mighty 'Clang' emanating from in front of him. Belvaac slammed into the ground, only its hilt visible from its earthy grave. Naruto had stopped the mighty teigu, with a _scalpel._

"Belvaac cannot pursue me if it is stuck in the ground." Naruto coldly explained, continuing to walk towards Daidara, who growled and went to kick the man. Naruto widened his eyes with fury and stomped down on his thigh, breaking his femur, causing Daidara to scream in pain. Naruto dropped into a crouch, his scalpel dripping in blood. "You are pathetic Daidara. You know that? You are weak, pitiful, _disgusting._ " Naruto groaned, eyes cold as he stared into the slightly terrified eyes of Daidara.

With a mighty roar that the animals surrounding the camp recognized as the last fighting breath, Daidara launched his left arm, the currently working arm, at Naruto. The blonde did not flinch as he raised his free hand, the gloved grip stopping the fist instantly as Naruto's cold eyes glinted from behind the fist, at least for Daidara's perspective. Naruto flipped his scalpel into a reverse grip, before leaning forward quickly and stabbing it into the man's shoulder, repeating what he had down to the right arm, causing the left arm to lose all function as it dropped limply to the ground. Daidara began to whimper in fear as Naruto stood.

Naruto's free hand brutally gripped onto his collar bone, pulling the man forward and shoving him down so that he was seated on his knees, elevated more than he had been before. Daidara grunted with a grimace, glaring at Naruto. "What're you gonna' do!? Kill me!? Esdeath would never forgive you, doesn't matter how close you two are!" Daidara yelled defiantly, until Naruto's eyes gleamed in front of him, Daidara instinctively feeling fearful of those eyes.

"Daidara… You are despicable. Human Waste. That does not deserve to be alive." Naruto growled out emotionlessly, before once more dug his hand behind Daidara's collar bone, only this time he held the man's stomach back with his scalpel hand. Naruto stared darkly into Daidara's eyes as he began to pull. At first, Daidara merely grit his teeth, until his eyes began to widen as Naruto's continued to pull. "aaaaAAAAAAAAAAGH!" Daidara screamed in pure agony, his shrieks echoing within Naruto's head. Hiko, the petrified nurse, would never forget the sound she heard next.

 _Crack_

The sound echoed within the room as Naruto's arm abruptly pulled back as the clothing in front of Daidara pushed forward, down to the lower part of his ribcage. Daidara breathed shallowly, unable to scream as it hurt too much. Naruto then tore the man's clothing, revealing his bare chest. The entire ribcage, including the clavicle, was showing through the man's skin, pulled tightly against it. The clavicles were no longer connected to the shoulders, broken as was the ribcage, everything had been pulled forward by Naruto.

Naruto's eyes, dark and cold, glimmered once more as he brought the tip of the scalpel to the side of Daidara's stomach. "Sorry, I just had to make room." Naruto explained, causing Daidara to shake slightly. His curiosity couldn't be helped, as he muttered, "F-For what?" Then, he drew back and cried out in agony once more as the blade dug through his stomach, completely through his stomach muscles and into the intestines behind them. Naruto dragged the blade from one side of the man's stomach, to the other, blood spraying all over his uniform as he did so. Daidara's cries stopped as Naruto removed the scalpel, dropping it unceremoniously to the dirt.

"For what you ask?" Naruto chuckled darkly, before raising his gloved hand slowly. "My hand." Without warning Naruto's left hand began to dig into the wound, pulling the upper portion upward, folding it slightly until Naruto roughly shoved his right hand into the wound, widening it as Naruto's wrist tore through it. Daidara's screams echoed for miles, reaching even the invasion force, the Northerners losing morale as the screams echoed. Daidara continued to scream as Naruto's hand snaked through his body, shoving past his intestines and making its way to the now opened up ribcage area. Naruto's arm was now elbow-deep within Daidara.

"Let's see. Where is it…" Naruto muttered as Daidara began to whimper, Naruto's hand slithering through his body caused his breathing to become shallow, he could barely even whimper. "Aha! There it is!" Naruto shouted happily, before gripping onto a small, pumping organ within Daidara's chest. The man's eyes opened more than they ever had as he growled out in pain, not able to voice his pain anymore. "You know what I've got in my hand right? Your pumping heart. Does it hurt when I add a little pressure?" Naruto questioned, tightening his grip around the heart. The beats increased in frequency as he did so, Daidara's face morphed into pure agony as he cried, barely audible screams ringing through the tent. Naruto's medics were all gone, long gone. The patients were merely listening, not willing to watch what Naruto was doing.

"Well, Daidara, it's been… Well actually I think this is the first time we've spoken. Shocker." Naruto remarked, before his grip closed, the heart exploding in his hand. He watched as the life drained from Daidara's eyes, before he unsheathed his arm from the man's rapidly dying body, before looking at his drenched hand in contempt and regret. He did not like being the source of so much pain, but Daidara deserved it. The man had done so much wrong in this world that it had made his death a _right._


	5. Chapter 5

Naruto was silent as he plopped down onto the foldable metal chair beside him, the metal clanking slightly as it settled with Naruto's added weight. Naruto stared at Daidara's mutilated body, the blonde man's face frozen in agony, dried tear stains blaringly obvious in Naruto's eyes. The blonde could not believe what he had done to the man. It was so… _cruel._ While Naruto was no stranger to another's blood on his hands, he liked to think that he did not give those that fell to his hands much pain, if any at all, as they slipped into the afterlife. But what he did to Daidara… The man's screams haunted Naruto while he looked at the aftermath of what he had done, the evidence blatantly crumpled into a heap of flesh that had been dragged forward and onto its face after Naruto pulled his hand out of the body.

What had made Naruto react in such a violent way? Naruto prided himself on being able to stay calm and peaceful in any situation, even if his life was threatened. And Naruto knew he could've simply knocked the man unconscious and allowed Esdeath to punish him, and yet… Something carnal within Naruto had awoken. A savage desire, a cruel pleasure had forced Naruto's hand.

Naruto's eyes slowly traveled to what used to be a silver sleeve covering his right arm. The Fabric was scrunched up at his elbow, as it struggled to get through Daidara's wound and simply crumpled instead of holding its shape. But, due to the massive amounts of blood that poured out of Daidara's body, Naruto's entire right sleeve and right part of his uniform was a blood red. Naruto could feel as the soaked material clung to his body, Daidara's blood coating the skin underneath. The man's blood had dried and formed a caked gauntlet over Naruto's hand, cleanly stopped at the wrist where the glove ended. Naruto had discarded said pair rather quickly after realizing what he had done, and yet his eyes saw bloody waterfalls pour from within Naruto's palm and onto the floor, surrounding Daidara's body.

Naruto shook his head to rid the delusions and hallucinations that plagued his vision, opening them once more to look at his half-red, half-silver uniform. Naruto looked at his left arm, the slightly clean one, and frowned as he saw the white band that marked him as a medic had been sprayed with blood, droplets of the crimson liquid dotted the white. Naruto did not like that the band, which used to mark him as a savior, a symbol of hope, now marked him as a murderer. Naruto felt warmth build in his eyes as he stared at the bond he had worked so hard to receive. So hard that it had become his pride and joy, the man smiling every time he wrapped it around his left bicep. Now, it was defiled. Corrupted. By Naruto's own vile deed.

Naruto pinched the bridge of his nose, standing up and looking behind him towards the patients, who had all begun to shake in his presence, more than half of them had simply turned around, afraid that even looking at Naruto would result in their deaths. Not even half an hour ago, the very same people had looked to Naruto with hope and relief. Naruto grit his teeth in a worsening depression as he caught the eyes of one patient, the one who he had been helping when Daidara had entered the room. The man, who had turned back to thank him with an appreciative gaze, was gazing at him with that horrified look, his jaw dropped down to his collarbone and his entire body shaking in fright.

Naruto sat down on the metal chair once more, his hands finding nests within his scalp and pulling on his hair. Naruto grit his teeth more so at his thoughts than the pain he was inflicting on himself. _How could I have done this… No. Daidara was a vile man. He deserved what he got… Even so, can you justify reaching into the man's chest and allowing him to gaze into your eyes as you crushed his heart within your own hand?... I, I don't know. D-Daidara slaughtered entire families, violated the corpses… Daidara searched your eyes for any semblance of mercy, and found none._ Naruto's mind was at a war with itself. One side was swearing up and down that Daidara deserved it, while the other was firing back with cool, and calm responses about the brutality of Daidara's gruesome demise.

Naruto's hands threatened to make his scalp bleed with how strong they pulled at his hair, until Naruto's keen ears caught the soft sound of a smooth melody, echoing throughout his head, bouncing back and forth between the two thoughts, swaying them, to what exactly, Naruto did not know. Naruto raised his head, his hands falling limply onto his knees, as he watched the last remaining members of the Three Beasts enter the tent. Nyau was calmly playing his Teigu, Scream, with practiced precision. The Recorder-like Teigu distorted the air as it smoothly and slowly played a sweet song into Naruto's ears. Liver walked past the smaller man, dropping slowly into a crouch and narrowing his eyes as he observed Daidara's mutilated body, even roughly kicking it up so he could see its chest, where the main wounds were.

"Ahahah, so the Trio becomes a _duo._ Daidara was always the weakest between us three, so I suppose I must thank you for weeding out his weakness, Naruto-teme." Liver's voice was smooth, rolling off of his tongue and slightly fluttering his carefully trimmed mustache as it passed it. Liver then cast his blue eyes onto Naruto's own eyes, glaring as he did so. "Make him disarm himself. Drop everything he's got onto the floor in front of him." Liver casually ordered Nyau with a small look towards the blonde, who didn't give any reaction, however the melody in Naruto's head changed slightly, and Naruto felt that he could trust the two men in front of him, and his thoughts were persuaded into dropping any equipment he had in front of him.

First was the medical pouch he always carried on the small of his back, next to his harness. Then, came a secret blade Naruto had sheathed on his right ankle. After that, Naruto reached behind him, and slowly withdrew the mighty cannon from his back, dropping it unceremoniously onto the pile in front of him, the weapon glinting in the sun. Liver's eyes widened amusedly as he stared at the weapon. "Ah, I did not expect a weakling like you to carry any kind of weapon. And to have two, one of them being a gun no less. Hehe, you truly are surprising Teme. To not only carry weapons despite your pacifist ideals, but to actually kill Daidara, in the gruesome manner you did. Makes me wonder if you could actually take on Nyau here. But then I remember why I hate you." Liver stopped his monologue, suddenly turning and glaring heatedly into Naruto's eyes, his face distorting into an angry snarl.

Little tendrils of water came to life in the air around Liver, before he breathed deeply and they dropped to the ground. "You must be wondering, or perhaps not due to Scream's influence, why? Why have I betrayed you? A comrade? An ally? Heheheh…" Liver giggled darkly, his voice deepening and the aura around him darkening. "That's rather simple. I never saw you as an ally. Even when you walked into my cell with Esdeath-dono. She was strong. She admired the strong. She _trusted_ the strong. And yet, a weakling like you. A _**pacifist**_ of all things. Was permitted to be in her army? As her Second in Command no less? And, let's face it, your entire division isn't needed in this army. Everyone who ends up in this tent doesn't deserve to be here. We are the strongest, The Elite among the Elite. We have no need for medics. I just… I cannot understand why Esdeath-dono keeps you around. So, I began to do my research. You know what I found on you?" Liver questioned, crouching in front of Naruto and analyzing the blonde's eyes.

" _Nothing._ Absolutely… _Nothing._ The first records of you the empire had were when you were 10, arriving in the Capital with Esdeath-dono. Hmpf. To think you've known her for so long…" Liver stood up, turning around and placing his hands behind his back, Black Marlin glinting dangerously. "I came to a conclusion. The Corrupt, Vile Politicians must have ordered you, their loyal youth, to make sure Esdeath stayed anchored to their pitiful Empire. That must be it. How could it not? Esdeath has no need for this empire, has no need for mercy, and yet you make her have both. It truly is mind-boggling, you know. How Esdeath has not seen fit yet to discard of you. You are weak, she is strong." Liver than turned around, his eyes bloodshot and maniacal as he looked at Naruto, the man hunched over slightly in the metal, foldable chair.

"Esdeath-dono will only be weakened by your continued existence. I will make her see. Your Weakness. The Empire's Manipulation of her. And then, once it is all over, she will lead a Great Crusade! We will sweep through the Royal Palace, and every Senator, every Representative, EVERYONE IN THE WHOLE DAMN PALACE WILL DIE BENEATH HER STRENGTH! AND THIS EMPIRE CAN TRULY BECOME STRONG!" Liver suddenly shouted, his hands raising into the air as he stared intensely into Naruto's eyes.

Naruto calmly stood up, walking towards Liver, before looking into his eyes, a dull-look in them. Liver dropped his hands with a deadpan. "I don't know why I bother. You don't even know what's going on. I bet you don't even hear me. All you hear is Scream's pretty little melody…" Liver muttered, rubbing his forehead in annoyance, until Naruto's hand found itself resting on the silver-haired man's shoulder.

Naruto pulled the man in close, whispering in his shocked ear. "Da Duh La Da Di Da La…" Naruto's calmly whispered the melody into Liver's ear, before roughly shoving the man into Nyau. Liver fell onto the other man, but stood strong as Nyau fell onto his ass. "Impossible. How could you counteract Scream's Melody!? You haven't inflicted any pain unto yourself!" Liver shouted insanely, glaring with shock at Naruto, who bent down and retrieved his knife, keen to ignore the darkening aura around his gun, which laid innocently on his Medical Pouch despite its menacing dark aura.

Naruto chuckled, turning around and calmly inspecting the knife. "That is where you are wrong Liver. While most people can counteract Scream's Mind Control with self-inflicted _physical_ pain, my head is fucked up enough right now that I managed to break it with _mental_ pain." Naruto muttered, his eyes darkening as he looked to Liver. "You call me weak, and yet here you stand, stuttering and stupefied, all because your 'easy, foolproof plan' has a little kink in it." Naruto taunted, a dark grin on his face. Liver suddenly snarled, whisps of water raging into life behind him, Black Marlin glinting dangerously.

Without warning, a whip of water slashed at Naruto's side. The blonde did not seem to react, however the water lost form as it neared his body, Naruto dashing to his left, his knife dripping with water as he suddenly curved his path, launching straight towards Liver. The man grinned sadistically, twisting his body to the right and avoiding Naruto's stab, before punishing the blonde by launching a vicious hook to the back of his head, the blonde slamming into the ground and rolling away slightly. Liver stalked towards him, Nyau merely watching with a sadistic smile in the background.

"You cannot win, Teme. I am physically stronger, mentally superior. My Teigu even allows me to pull water from the fucking _air_ to kill you. Everything is against you in this endeavor." Liver chided, stalking towards the groaning blonde, who struggled to get back up, coughing slightly. Liver's grin widened as he reached the blonde, unleashing a harsh kick to the blonde's midsection, launching Naruto once more further away from him, moaning in agony.

As Liver approached once more, Naruto opened his blurry eyes and looked around him, not wanting to look at the silver-haired man that approached with an intimidating lack of speed. Naruto's eyes caught sight of Daidara's mutilated body, the wound spread open for his eyes to see. The world slowed down for Naruto as he looked at it, watching some blood slowly leak out of the wound, the intestines within clearly visible.

 _Naruto found himself within his mind once more, the blackened figure of his gun crouching down in front of him with an angered look._ " _ **You fucking disgrace."**_ _It blatantly growled out, glaring at Naruto's beaten form. Naruto looked down in shame, not willing to look at his gun's figure. The Teigu wasn't having any of that, roughly pulling Naruto's hair and forcing the blonde to look at him._

" _ **You listen and you listen well. It is time that this pacifist shit you've been pulling ever since your Old Man died clearly hasn't been fucking working. You understand me, you little fucking maggot? You set out to change this corrupt Empire by spreading a word of peace. Has that done fucking**_ _ **anything**_ _ **?"**_ _The Teigu questioned, snarling as it glared into Naruto's eyes. It watched as they focused and unfocused as they looked into its own blackened eyes._

 _Naruto closed his eyes, gritting his teeth and grounding out a small, "No.". The Teigu grinned, roughly dropping Naruto's head onto the floor of his mindscape. Suddenly, The Teigu slammed its foot onto Naruto's back, twisting its foot as it forced Naruto to the ground._ " _ **Then what the fuck are you gonna do to fix this fucked up world, huh?"**_ _The Teigu angrily demanded, still grinding its foot into Naruto's back. Naruto whimpered slightly, his whimpers gaining force until they were angry groans, before eventually they evolved into a full on roar of rage and anger as Naruto pushed his body up, unbalancing the Teigu and causing it to fall onto its ass._

 _Naruto whipped around, huffing and glaring at the Teigu as he snarled. "I'm gonna fucking fix it! I don't care if I have to drown my own fucking head in the blood of this Empire! This world wants peace. Ne, this world needs peace. NE! THIS WORLD DESERVES PEACE! AND I'M GONNA FUCKING GIVE IT WHAT IT DESERVES! THROUGH KILLING EVERY LAST MOTHER-FUCKER WHO THINKS THEY CAN STOP ME!" Naruto roared at his Teigu, a fire burning in his eyes as the Teigu merely watched as the blonde let go of his pent up rage._

 _The Teigu began to laugh, standing up and roughly clasping onto Naruto's shoulder, looking into his eyes._ " _ **That's it. Those eyes. That fire! Yes! This is what I've wanted from you! Now, prove to me you can fix this corrupted world!"**_ _The Teigu demanded, shoving Naruto. The blonde began to stagger backwards, his eyes widened as he began to fall._

Naruto got the sensation of falling back into his body, lurching forward as he recovered from the incredibly strange feeling. Looking to his right once more, seeing the mutilated body of Daidara, Naruto's resolve hardened and became unbreakable as he rose, despite gritting his teeth, and stood defiantly against Liver's glare.

"Liver. You claim that I am part of the problem with this Empire. And yet, here you are, attempting to kill a man simply because you think he's weak. That is not what the strong do. They protect the weak. They fight for the weak. They lay their lives down for the weak. And yet, here you are, trying to kill the weak. Liver… I can't forgive you for this. You, both of you," Naruto looked to the ground, walking over and tightly gripping the smooth metal of his Teigu, the void around the weapon stretching out and darkening.

"Both of you Die, Now." Naruto's voice was stern, and Liver began to laugh at him. "Ahahahaha! You, You really think you can kill me?! Well then, try it! I can't wait to see the crushing despair that lights alive in your eyes!" Liver shouted insanely, even as Naruto cocked his gun and pointed it squarely at Liver's head.

"We'll see about that." Naruto muttered, releasing the safety with a small 'click' before adjusting his grip so that his index finger rested on the trigger. Naruto took a deep breath, closing his eyes, before snapping them open as the fire from before lit ablaze within his shining sapphire eyes, the trigger being pulled back with a simple 'Clink'. At first, nothing seemed to happen, causing Liver to begin a grin, until the barrel of the gun shot forward, and a dark void leaked from the opening it created. A sea of darkness leaked out into the air and over Naruto's arm, dripping all the way to the ground and stretching to cover the ground of the tent. Tiny Tendrils of darkness lapped at the air, twisting and churning with an almost visible agony. Without warning, the barrel slammed back, the void screaming as it vanished.

Liver had seen the void for only a second, and he knew instantly that he would die. There was no question. His smile dropped and his eyes widened. Nyau, behind him, fell to his knees. Black Marlin cracked under the pressure that the void had omitted. The area in front of the gun exploded in a world of inverse colors, before suddenly imploding and releasing a brilliant explosion of fire as a beam traveled through the air. Liver was unsure of how his eyes could track the high speed movement, considering he couldn't see the sweat on Naruto's head move, and the blonde hadn't blinked for what felt like an eternity. But, as the beam approached and simply passed through Liver's stomach and into Nyau's head, Liver looked down at it. It was a brilliant white, a perfect contrast to the void that the gun had leaked before. Liver smiled suddenly. "I understand, Esdeath-dono. There is an undeniable, undeniable strength in his eyes. I am sorry that I cannot serve you anymore, but I will happily lay my life down as I trust the man before me to lead this Empire to greatness." Liver whispered, until his world exploded in an expanse of white.

 _With Esdeath._

Esdeath sadistically grinned as the man in front of her leaned down and licked her boots with a trained precision. The 'Hero' of the North had been overwhelmed instantly by Esdeath's strength. The screams coming, from his own soldiers Esdeath had thought, had dropped his morale and his soldiers' hearts sank into their guts. It was child's play to conquer the North after that.

Esdeath caught the sight of a massive white sphere in the distance, where her army had laid its tents. Her eyes widened as the ground began to rumble and shake, before a deafening boom shattered the ice Esdeath had created around her, her army falling to their knees. However, Esdeath stood strong, her jaw dropping as her heart began to beat rapidly with worry. _Naruto…_

 _With Naruto_

Naruto's arm snapped backwards, somehow managing to retain its grip on the massive weapon within his palm. Smoke slowly leaked from its barrel, twirling into the air and dissipating slightly. Naruto slowly opened his eyes, after clicking the safety of the gun back on, and observed the pure destruction in front of him. The entire side of the tent was just gone. A miles long scar on the Earth stretched as far as Naruto could see. The forestry surrounding Naruto was separated directly in front of Naruto. The Gash in the ground was easily 12 feet wide, and 6 feet deep within the dirt. Naruto's eyes widened. This level of destruction was much greater than anything his father ever managed to achieve with the weapon. And then, Naruto saw them. The two, completely white, Skeletons in front of him. One was small in size, clearly this was Nyau's. The other fit Liver's figure. They both were a harrowing example of Naruto's Teigu's power, especially when they suddenly exploded in a flurry of dust that scattered to the wind…

" _ **Naruto. This is a mere drop of what you can achieve with me. Use it wisely. I will teach you how to restrain my power later. For now, focus on explaining this to that woman you're so attached to."**_ The Teigu's voice rang within Naruto's head, making the blonde suddenly widen his eyes and snap his head to the right, finding the image of a completely shocked Esdeath, who merely stared at Naruto. "Uh… I can explain." Naruto stuttered out, quickly stashing his gun back into its harness. Esdeath merely continued to look at him with her jaw dropped.


	6. Chapter 6

_I apologize for any confusion, but for some reason FanFiction is messing up on my end and I had to reupload the previous chapter multiple times to ensure that everyone who was following was receiving the notifications. So to anyone that could've been confused because they saw the same chapter uploaded more than once, I appologize. Anyway, here is the new chapter._

Syura grumbled quietly, clenching his jaw as he walked through the large theater, the loud sounds of whatever play was going on rumbling through the walls as Syura ascended a flight of stairs. After a rather long walk, a testament to the size of the Capital's most popular and famous theater, Syura walked across a flat, rounded platform that had multiple curtains to Syura's left. "The 7th… 2… 5… 7." Syura muttered to himself, walking past the 6 previous curtains and entering the 7th curtain.

Syura came to the sight of a rail-guarded balcony, overlooking a massive stage that was currently playing some romantic scene, a woman actress on her knees and a male actor turned away from her, looking down almost as if he were ashamed. Syura grit his teeth, he never liked the plays, they were always so cliche. Regardless, Syura turned to his right and rather abruptly and loudly groaned as he sat down on the 3 seater V.I.P balcony. To Syura's right, sat a man. The 3rd seat between them was empty. Syura prefered it that way, this man always made Honest's son uncomfortable for some reason.

The man in question had crisp black hair that had obviously been gelled and pulled back, presumably for the occasion of going to the theater. He was wearing a black suit, a white tie showing past his black blazer. The man was relaxed, his left arm stretched across the back of the third seat and his right calmly placed in the lap of the woman, who was dressed in a dazzling red dress, on his lap. The man was also wearing pitch black sunglasses, which hid his eyes away from the world. The woman on his lap did not say anything, and the man himself merely smiled and watched the theater with a keen eye.

"Oi, I don't get why you insisted we meet here of all places." Syura off-handedly stated, leaning on his left arm with annoyance, gazing cautiously at the man to his right. The man grinned slightly, his right hand coming up from the woman's lap and pushing up his sunglasses, before he lazily turned his head and grinned at Syura. "It's a shame you did not inherit a taste for the finer arts like theater. It seems only women and money interest you, ne?" Questioned the man, chuckling and grinning as he watched the play, his cheeks morphing into a wrinkled mess as he did so.

Syura clicked his tongue, chuckling. "I have only an interest in women and money huh? Coming from the guy with a slut on his dick right now." Syura shot back haughtily. The woman on the man's lap looked at him in shock, dropping her jaw and pressing a hand softly to her collar bone, reeling back. "Agh! You fiend! Say something, M-" The woman could not finish her sentence as the man's hand was suddenly snaked around her throat, the man pulling her body back and slamming it slightly off of the chair to his right, still keeping his hold.

The man turned and grinned at Syura, his hand still holding the struggling woman's throat. "My sincerest apologies, Syura-kun. It seems Tsuki-chan isn't as smart as I had initially believed, nor does she have any manners. She was not involved in the conversation in anyway." The man chuckled once more, a sickening snap resounding through the balcony slightly, the woman's body going limp next to him. Syura looked at the man in slight shock, but said nothing. Syura really couldn't anyway, he usually murdered any women he met, and it almost always happened after he had sex with them in some form or another, be it rape or consensual.

The man to his right relaxed once more, his left arm tapping on the chair slightly and his legs spread a little further, no longer having to create a chair for a woman on his lap. He even nodded his head slightly to the upbeat tone of the music below them. "Let's go over this whole ordeal once more, Syura. You are interested in Esdeath-san, are you not?" The man questioned, hiding his grin as Syura nodded to him, said man straightening his back.

"Well, as you probably know, Esdeath-san only has eyes for one man. Naruto-san, her Chief Medic." At his words, Syura growled, glaring at the space in front of him. "I know she does. It's pathetic. That man is weak, and is undeserving of Esdeath-hime's gaze." Syura muttered, angrily. The man grinned sadistically, his aura darkening slightly. "I suppose you are right. However, some recent news has been brought to my attention." The man pushed up his glasses once more, before turning to look at Syura.

"Naruto-san was attacked by Esdeath-san's _Three Beasts._ Her supposed 'bodyguards'. But, you and I both know Esdeath-san does not need them. They were there because they were strong enough for Esdeath to _personally_ recruit the three of them." At his words, Syura looked at the man with a keen attention. "Now, I was under the impression that Naruto would die from such an event. However," The man chuckled, his grin spreading even more, "Naruto-san lived. Not only lived, but he murdered the Three Beasts while sustaining minimal injuries. I heard he even crushed Daidara's heart within his hands while the man gazed into his eyes." At the man's words, Syura's eyes widened, before they narrowed as he looked down in thought, his index and thumb coming up to stroke his chin.

"Well, there had to be a reason he caught Esdeath-hime's attraction. What does this all mean though?" Syura questioned, raising his head to stare at his own reflection in the man's glasses. The man chuckled, turning back to the stage. "It's obvious isn't it? Provide Esdeath-san a show. Make her aware of your love. Make her understand your strength. And most of all, make sure she sees you utterly _dismantle_ Naruto-san." The man's grin, which up until that point had been eternal and everlasting, had dropped as soon as he talked about Naruto's demise, turning to stare intensely into Syura's eyes.

Syura stared back, before snarling. "What's in this for you, huh? Up until now, all you've done is help me. I know you want something, so what is it?" Syura questioned harshly, glaring at the man. Said man chuckled, grinning once more. "Who said I have anything to gain?" The man retorted, causing Syura to growl angrily, standing up and leaning over the man, in an intimidating manner. "I know you want something out of this. I can feel it. My father is the Prime Minister, I know when people want something. So spill it! Before I gut you!" Syura threatened, until the man's aura darkened and his grin widened.

The man chuckled, lowering his head and raising his right hand, which then gently gripped the side of his glasses. Syura waited impatiently, though inwardly he was curious. He had never seen the man's eyes before. Then, the man slowly removed his glasses, his aura darkening as he went, before he raised his head and slowly opened his eyes. Syura almost stepped back from the red glow that quite literally seemed to leak from the man's eyes.

They were a blood red, with 3, ever so slowly spinning Tomoe in them. Syura gulped as they continued to hypnotically, agonizingly-slowly spin in the man's eye, the sheer power in them lighting up the area around them. "What I want is none of your business, _Syura-kun._ I suggest you drop the matter before I drop your dead body next to Tsuki-chan's." The man threatened back, giggling darkly as Syura stumbled back and walked away, trying to retain his pride. The man smirked as he slipped his glasses back on, tapping the seat to his left as he continued to watch the play. "Ah, some people really need to gain a taste for the finer things in life, ne Tsuki-chan?" When the man received no answer, he merely chuckled, pushing his glasses further up the ridge of his nose.

Outwardly, the man continued to watch the play. However, internally the man did not care for whatever romantic garbage had been concocted in the mind of the writer. He never truly cared for Romances, his favor tuned more accurately towards actions that went away from the Cliched happy ending and usually turned for a closing act in favor of the antagonist. It was always just… _better_ in his eyes. It made for a more realistic and interesting ending. The man grinned once more. "Isn't that right, Aniki?" The man questioned randomly, his eyes trailing to a Balcony to his far left, locking onto the form of a blonde man hunched over slightly, his attention firmly secured on the play with a massive grin of enjoyment on his face as the blue-haired woman to his right giggled at his antics.

The man growled slightly at the scene, the man standing abruptly and exiting his balcony, the curtain swaying roughly from the force he had used to brush past it. As he walked past the balcony the blonde man had seated himself at, he took an extra second to debate entering the balcony, but ultimately decided against the action, huffing forcefully as he walked past it with a rage in his eyes, a red glow permeating past the blackened lenses of his sunglasses…

" _I'll start at the beginning, Esdeath-chan. Do you remember History class during our second year of Boot Camp? Specifically, do you remember the Conqueror of the West?"_

 _Second Year of Boot Camp, History Class Room 225_

" _Okay class, today we will begin a new, more recent topic." The teacher announced loudly, the class of second year trainees staring at him in a bored fashion. Many did not care for History as it would not help them on the battlefield. The teacher turned around sharply, a small piece of chalk in his hand as he approached the massive blackboard. Reaching up, the man slowly wrote out a name, before he gently placed the piece of chalk down and turned around, swinging his arms out in an almost presenting manner._

" _Anyone? Can anyone here tell me who this man is?" The teacher questioned, peaking the student's interests as he tapped the board with his ruler, right where the board was marked_ _ **The Conqueror of the West.**_ _Naruto gazed at the words with a calm nostalgia, something both Esdeath and Najenda caught, but said nothing about. The blonde looked down slightly, suddenly able to feel the weight of the concealed weapon on the small of his back, before he stood up abruptly, his chair screeching on the wooden floor as he raised his hand, a fire in his eyes. The other students looked at him in a small amount of shock. Usually, the blonde was a clam one who would wait to be called, his arm growing tired on most days as he waited to be called on._

" _Mr. Nagumi, with all due respect, this topic is not something I feel should be taught in this classroom." Naruto's voice rang out, making many students raise their eyes and keenly look at the tension in the air as Naruto, a determined look on his eyes, stared intently at their History teacher. Said man, a large, imposing man with graying hair, looked at Naruto, also in shock and curiosity. "Young Naruto-san, this is a complete and utter disrespect of my teaching. I am willing to let it go, as long as you explain yourself later. Now, the Conqu-" Naruto slammed his fist down on his desk, interrupting his teacher._

" _Mr. Nagumi, the Conqueror of the West is not a subject we should go over! The man was cruel, even to his own soldiers! He ruled with an Iron Fist over his lands! Lands he had taken from the Empire! I will not stand as yet another teacher preaches about the man's power on the battlefield and his 'tactical prowess' which always devolved into 'If my men can't do it, I'll just shoot my damn gun!' I'm sick and tired of this blatant glorifying of a man who does not deserve any of it!" Naruto shouted at his teacher, his eyes burning intensely as the man stared at him in shock. The teacher smiled softly, taking off his glasses and cleaning them with a cloth on his desk, before he once more placed them on the ridge of his nose._

" _Well then, since you seem to be so knowledgeable on the subject, why don't you come up here and teach the class Naruto?" The teacher offered, a glint in his eyes as he stared back into Naruto's fiery eyes, his hand extended with the piece of chalk earlier resting innocently within his grip. Naruto debated within himself, looking down at Najenda who shook her head to tell him to just sit down, but Naruto clenched his jaw and moved out of his seat, brushing past both Esdeath and Najenda as he went, stiffly walking to the front of the class and roughly taking the piece of chalk from the teacher, continuing his pace until he stopped at the board, staring at the name written there, almost as if it were mocking him._

 _Grabbing the eraser, Naruto spoke as he quickly and fluidly erased the words written there. "Let's start with the man's real name." Naruto began to write said name on the board, turning around once he was finished. "Minato Namikaze."_

 _Present_

" _Naruto, I don't get why you are bringing this conversation back to Boot Camp. I wanted you to explain what happened, not make me remember the most boring class we had."_

" _Esdeath-chan, this has so much to do with what I did. You see… The Conqueror of the West had two sons. I was one of them. My brother, his name is, or was, Menma."_

The black haired man held back a sneeze as he approached a bar calmly, rubbing his nose as he walked in. Calmly stalking through the room, his long strides making his body dip and raise regularly, the man grinned softly as he sat down next to a man with black hair who was in a samurai outfit. The man, who had a black sclera and red eyes, stared at the man as he almost lovingly rubbed the sheathed Katana in front of him.

The man in the suit looked at the samurai from behind his glasses, before pushing them further up his nose as he calmly remarked. "So, Izou, how had _Wild Hunt_ been treating you?" The man's question was innocent, and the now-named Izou showed no reaction to it as he continued to sit, slumped in his wooden chair as he calmly placed whatever drink he had in his hand down at the table between the two. Izou wondered, however, if this was the supposed 'suit man' that Syura had been meeting with. Unoriginal name, but Syura wasn't that bright of an individual anyway.

"Wild Hunt has been treating me and Kousetsu well enough. Kousetsu gets her fill of the blood she needs by being in the group. I do wish they would stray further away from their, *cough*, more… _lustful_ activities, but other than that, Wild Hunt seems to be a good group for me." Izou responded calmly, confident in his ability to survive if the man in front of him did anything.

The man did not outwardly respond to Izou's words, before calmly leaning forward and lacing his hands together in front of him, tapping his thumbs together. "You know, Izou, I have red eyes as well. Would you… like to see them?" His question was innocent, and the tapping of his thumbs made his appearance that much more effective in the innocence department. This clever use of body language and vocal play served its purpose in making Izou visibly relax, even if just slightly. However, the man's glowing red eyes caught the motions from behind their lensed-shield. "I suppose, though I don't really think you need permission to take off your shades." Izou remarked with a chuckle and a scoff as he looked at the man lazily.

The man chuckled as he brought one hand up to his glasses. "I was just asking. A lot of people," The man removed the glasses, opening his eyes and catching Izou in his trap, "Tend to be… _afraid_ of my eyes. It makes me wonder, perhaps it is the way they look. Or, perhaps… _It's what I do with them._ " The man's voice grew a much darker undertone, deepening as the world around Izou grew dark, a blood-red moon shining brilliantly above him as he was suddenly in a dark forest. Kousetsu was gone, no longer in his reach directly in front of him.

Izou looked around, his eyes wide with shock. "What the fuck!? Where am I? Who the fuck did this!?" Izou shouted angrily around him, until the suited-man from before walked out from the shadowy forestry, the shades he wore gone, the white lines of his suit glowing a blood red, reflecting the moon's own glow. The man's eyes opened, the tomoe within slowly spinning, intimidating and dangerous. "Izou. Wild Hunt will not require your services anymore. I regret to inform you of this information. However, I don't regret having to kill you." The man stated, calmly walking forward with his hands behind his back. Izou grew angry, glaring at the man and running forward, pulling his fist back and launching it towards the man's face.

" _Wait… your father was The Conqueror of the West?!"_

" _Yes. He was. I was treated like royalty while he was alive. Everyday, our supposed 'Kingdom' grew larger with each area of land conquered. Eventually, when he had Conquered the entire western portion of the Empire, he had begun to stretch into the Capital. Then, an army of massive proportions showed up at his newly built Castle. That, is the day my parents, died. That day, my brother and I were separated. He went with our mother, I went with our father. When Father died, he dropped," Naruto reached behind him and pulled out the black hand gun, placing it on the table between him and Esdeath, the pair sitting in her massive tent, "This. The Kyofu (Dread). It has been my Teigu ever since I was 7."_

Once more, the sunglasses wearing man grinned, leaving the bar, dragging and mutilated corpse of Izou in his left hand, the now-abandoned building behind them covered in Izou's blood on the inside. The man walked out of the bar calmly, still dragging the body behind him. It was night, the full-moon shining brilliantly from its cosmic throne. Only those who had carried bodies in the same manner that the man was doing now would be out. They wouldn't care if they saw him dragging a dead man behind him. The man suddenly turned quickly to his left, loudly flinging the body forward as he came across the sight of an overweight clown, who was roughly dragging his tongue along the body of a small boy, who was crying and screaming for help. No help would come from those who lurked in the night. The man supposed the boy was lucky he showed up.

Champ turned around, snarling. Whoever was there had interrupted his honey-moon with the little angel. Once he turned around, his snarl dropped a little upon seeing a fellow member of Wild Hunt dead, face-down on the ground. Blood leaked out of him, forming little waterfalls as blood dripped onto the ground. Champ stood up slightly, his grip on the little angel still tight and unwavering. "Who're you?" Champ questioned roughly, glaring at the grinning man in the black, superbly clean suit. The man chuckled, dipping his head down and pulling his glasses off.

"Champ, I regret to inform you that Wild Hunt no longer requires your services. I will gladly send you to all of your… 'little angels'." The man stated calmly, his red-eyes spinning fast and jittery, almost as if they were excited for some reason. The tomoe within them almost seemed to pull at his Iris as if they were being pushed outward by how fast they were spinning within his eyes. Champ chuckled deeply, his second and third chin jiggling as he did so. The boy in his hands just continued to cry, pleading with his eyes for the man in the suit to save him.

"And what makes you think you can do that. Hmm?" Champ questioned, Die Leaguer suddenly coming to life around him in its signature six orbs, slowly circling around the man. The suited man giggled slightly, the tomoe within his eyes bouncing up and down as he did so, before he began to step forward. "A… Conqueror's intuition, I suppose."

 _Esdeath looked at the massive gun in front of her, idly noting how the aura around the gun darkened considerably. It was hard for her to imagine Naruto wielding the gun in front of her, literally the entire time she had known him._

" _The Kyofu is capable of incredible destruction. My Father… he conquered the entire west with only 24 shots of this weapon. Do you know how many conflicts there were during his campaign to conquer the west?" Seeing Esdeath's negative shake, Naruto chuckled hollowly. "25. He died on the 25th conflict. It took only 1 shot per land he conquered."_

The man looked down at the mushy pile of flesh that had, at one point, been Champ. He reached into a pocket of his suit, retrieving 2 white gloves which he proceeded to slip over his hands, before he gathered the six orbs that had made up Die Leaguer, the man's Teigu. As he began to walk away, he turned around at a tug on his pant leg. The small boy from before was now covered in his rapist's blood, but he was looking up at the man with pleading eyes. "P-please take me w-with you." The boy pleaded. The man grinned, in what seemed to be a comforting manner, before he crouched down, the balls still in his left hand.

"Boy, you must learn that, this world, is a kill or be killed world. I cannot take pity on you, or I may die because of it. However, I can give you something that might be able to keep you alive in this world." At his words, the boy's eyes lit up happily. "R-Really!?" The boy questioned, until the man presented him with the six orbs of Die Leaguer. "Yes, just hold three of this orbs in both of your hands. You will gain a great power from them if you do." The man instructed with a smile, his red eyes slowly spinning from behind their lenses.

The boy did as instructed, carefully gathering three orbs into each hand, until he looked at them in confusion. "I, I don't feel anyth-" Without warning, the orbs suddenly screeched loudly and rose into the air, turning until the kanji written on them faced the boy, before a hail of elemental prowess was unleashed onto the boy. The man chuckled as he once more gathered the orbs, now bloody, as he walked out of the alley way. "It is a shame, really. If they had accepted you, perhaps you could've been useful. Now look at you, a corpse in some random alley. Heh, you died next to your rapist. That's a pitiful fate, now isn't it?" The man's voice faded as he walked away from the alleyway that had been painted in the blood of a overweight rapist, and his victim.

The man looked at the moon, the six orbs of Die Leaguer in his arms, the cloth between his hand and the orbs preventing them from reacting to him in any form. "Wild Hunt… I will not let you interfere with Syura-san's battle with Aniki." His voice was calm, determined, before he continued his walk, chuckling darkly into the night. The next day, 5 bodies were collected by Imperial Police Officers, being recognized, barely, as the members of Syura's Wild Hunt.


	7. Chapter 7

_Let me start off my (hopefully) easing some of your concerns from last chapter. One particular guest stated that I had almost killed their interest in the story by adding an Uchiha. Let me calm you by saying,_ _ **Menma is not in any way an Uchiha.**_ _Menma only has black hair and the Sharingan for reasons that will be explained later. Also, the Sharingan is not as powerful as it was in Naruto. It will not become a Mangekyou or an EMS, and it will be limited to illusions and predictive capabilities. (As well as intimidation). I would love to give you more information but it would ruin a reveal later, however if anyone does want more information to justify continuing their reading of this fic, feel free to PM me if you don't care about spoilers._

 _Another reviewer and potentially a few others are turned off by the idea of a new Character, or even new elements from Naruto. Once more, let me attempt to calm you by saying that both Menma, Minato, and Naruto's mother who will be Kushina, will not be their Naruto selves. Chakra will not be introduced, the Sharingan as stated earlier will be restricted and Menma will be the only person to have it, and the Naruto-verse will in no way other than previously mentioned be involved in the story, to my knowledge in this point of time anyway. Hopefully I have eased some of your concerns, and if you have anymore please PM me and I will respond._

The sun glowed a golden hue as it just barely snuck past the horizon, causing the sweat covering Naruto's torso to gleam in the sun. The blonde was focused, the same determined fire in his eyes as his blonde hair stuck to his sweaty face. He was breathing heavily, a testament to his less-than satisfactory endurance. Naruto grit his teeth, feeling a sharp pain in the lower portion of his chest, his hand coming up to massage the naked tissue that lay over the inflicted area.

Naruto growled slightly, whether it was at some unseen entity or at himself for his own weakness, only Naruto knew. Without warning, Naruto then launched himself back into a set of katas he had beaten into his head when he was young. It was acrobatic, reactive. Naruto had to imagine multiple enemies coming at him. The style of Close Quarters, unarmed combat was meant for easy kills so that the user could continue pushing forward through the battlefield. Naturally, this meant that the style was Naruto's Father's style. The man had a battlefield presence that could be seen from miles away as bodies flew away from him, limp and pulseless.

Sweat was flung off of Naruto's forearm as he launched it outwards in a vicious palm strike, meant to shatter the receiver's sternum and send the shards into their lungs. While Naruto's Father may not have been too physically strong, the metal gloves and armor he wore certainly helped in his crushing style of combat. Naruto leaped forward, crushing his body into a compact form as he slid past two invisible blades, before he suddenly sprung out once he had passed the imaginary weapons, his foot and hand coming up to strike the heads of the attackers. Naruto landed softly, his stance spread and one hand dipped down to the floor, the other tucked behind him.

Landed suddenly fell forward, exhausted. He panted as he simply laid there, the grass prickling his chest as he heaved, attempting to catch his breath and calm his beating heart.

Naruto laid there for some time before he begrudging got up, groaning heavily as he did so. After stretching his back and happily sighing at the popping sounds it made, Naruto strode over to a small bench where a towel laid innocently. Grabbing it, Naruto threw it around his neck, each hand seizing one end of the white cloth. Naruto turned to his right, walking forward towards a rather large, white, imposing house. Specifically, towards the sliding glass door that made up the entrance to the backyard, or rather, the back field. As Naruto approached the glass, the image of Esdeath appeared behind the glass, who grinned as she approached the door, before sliding the glass and entering the large field she called her backyard, a replica of Naruto's towel on her neck.

"You did not think you were going to get away without a spar, did you?" Esdeath questioned with an innocent tone, though her almost sadistic grin spoke entire series of books against the innocent tone. Naruto groaned, until Esdeath gripped his hand and ran forward towards the field, turning back.

Naruto's world slowed down, Esdeath's hair fluttering in the wind as she smiled brightly at him. Naruto's angle was situated so that the sun's golden hue shone from behind Esdeath's silhouette, glorifying her image and making her appear like an angel to Naruto's eyes. The blonde man blushed, his face heating as he simply stared at the beautiful woman in front of him, her arm connected to his via their hands as they ran towards the sparring grounds, blissfully in love.

Esdeath's image was ruined as she threw Naruto to the other end of the sparring grounds, her stance widening, one fist tucking below its shoulder while the other stretched out, following the path her foot had set for it in front of her. Her eyes had lost their shining love, replaced with a cold, calculative gaze as she stood across from Naruto, even as he coughed roughly while getting up. "Hey, Esdeath-chan, you didn't have to throw me so damn hard…" Naruto muttered to himself, patting the dust and dirt off of his bare chest before settling into his stance. One palm was tucked close to his rib cage, the other stretched as far as it could go, while his feet were tight, ready to spring away from danger at a moment's notice.

Esdeath grinned, suddenly dashing forward as she shouted "BEGIN!" The woman's hair flew behind her as she launched towards Naruto, dashing left and right to try and confuse him, before she launched into the air, an arm drawn back and once pushed forward. Looking up, Naruto widened his eyes before he dashed back.

While in the air, Naruto watched as Esdeath's fist connected with the bare ground, a massive cut out of the ground forming afterwards. After witnessing the woman's destructive prowess, Naruto suddenly found that he no longer ached from his training before, and that he could focus. His heart was no longer beating viciously into his ears. Its beating had smoothed out. Naruto found he could almost sense what Esdeath was planning as he softly landed once more on the ground, no longer panting like he was before.

Esdeath once more dashed forward, being the aggressor of the pair. Naruto, instead of running this time, dipped low, his knees bending as he did so, the woman's fist passing, just barely, over his shoulder. Naruto's mind quickly ran through many scenarios, before it settled on shouldering the woman, his body twisting and his legs pushing forward. Esdeath crumpled over his shoulder, the softness of her chest on his shoulder making Naruto's fluster for a fraction of a second, before she tumbled a little in front of Naruto. She remained standing, before she fell back as Naruto followed up with a palm strike to her midsection. Esdeath grunted as she landed, before she openly glared at Naruto.

"Naruto… I'm disappointed in you. While this may only be a spar…" Esdeath got up, her long blue hair shadowing her face. "I EXPECT YOUR FULL EFFORT!" The woman shouted once more, rushing Naruto and landing a fist square in his stomach. However, her other arm snaked around Naruto's back, keeping him from getting launched. The woman then quickly brought up her knee, kicking Naruto into the air. She jumped upwards, following his aerial movement, before slamming the back of her heel onto his head, launching Naruto into the unforgiving dirt. A small crater formed around his impact point, while Esdeath merely softly landed, crossing her arms as she did so.

"While I may not like hurting you, I was simply teaching you that you must give it you alllllll…." Esdeath trailed off as Naruto crawled out of the crater, shakily getting up before his stance once more hardened, a cold gleam in his eyes as he readied himself. "Esdeath-chan, I do not know why. My body, it feels revitalized every time you strike me. My eyes, they can catch every one of you movements. My entire body, it seems to be able to sense what your next move is. And yet, I am too weak to use any of this to my advantage. Thus, I must get stronger!" Naruto told the woman, his voice raising with each sentence.

Esdeath grinned happily, her eyes gaining a softer tone as she settled into her stance. _That's my Naruto…_ And then, she once more rushed the weaker man, who rushed her as well.

Meanwhile, in the trees surrounding Esdeath's backyard, crouching on a branch, sat Syura, who was observing Naruto carefully. He wanted to make sure he knew everything about the man's style. The man's battle strategy. His reaction time. _Everything._ He completely planned on crushing the man in the most brutal, dismantling manner. Naruto could, maybe, recover physically, but he would _**never**_ recover mentally. Socially. He would be an outcast. He'd be discarded by the very woman he loved. Syura grinned darkly, continuing to observe the spar between Naruto and Esdeath as the two dashed around in little blurs. Syura would get what he wanted. Syura would get Esdeath.

 _Later._

Menma smirked as he walked through the capital, at night of course. His shades were sitting comfortably on his nose while he walked, his crisp suit cleaned from his activities involving Wild Hunt. Syura hadn't taken the loss too hard, though Menma supposed it could've been because Syura wanted to _personally_ deal with Naruto. Menma was also thankful that Syura wasn't an intellectually-inclined person. It was blatantly obvious that Menma was the one behind the killings, but Menma didn't care. It was in his favor regardless.

Menma's grin stretched over his face slowly as he walked, sensing the individual trailing him. He had recognized the signature, naturally. That was child's play. _So, Honest caught on. And he even managed to track me. Though, I suppose that was Kurome's success…_ Menma thought to himself, suddenly turning around and grinning up at the roof to his right, a small girl in a school uniform staring at him emotionlessly, the moon gleaming behind her. She had a sheathed sword held in a reverse grip, stretching up past her head as she continued to stare at him, his grin not doing anything to her.

"So, Kurome-san, what brings you to this abandoned street at night with me, hmm?" Menma questioned innocently, his eyes glowing dangerously from behind their shaded lenses. Kurome's only reaction was to effortlessly execute a flip forward, landing with one hand tenderly touching the ground in front of her, the girl's still sheathed Teigu held in the same reverse grip behind her. Her eyes were locked onto Menma's shades. "The Prime Minister has called for your death, whoever you are." Kurome emotionlessly stated, suddenly dashing forward and unsheathing her Teigu as she ran past Menma, her blade cleanly running through the man, who then disappeared into dust that floated away into dust, reappearing fully healthy further in front of Kurome.

"Ah ah ah! You're gonna have to try harder, little Assassin-tan!" Menma chided, waving his finger teasingly in front of him, before he once more exploded into dust as Kurome appeared where he was. Menma reformed from dust, again further ahead of Kurome.

He waved his arms out, almost invitingly, yet he looked confused. "Truly, I thought you were the best Assassin the Empire had to offer!? And you haven't even figured out my little trick yet… I suppose, I should see if, _Akame_ can figure it out." Menma questioned, watching as Kurome's eyes suddenly gained an insane gleam as she rushed him, angrily slashing away at his body, which turned to dust wherever she hit and reformed when she hit a different area. Her teeth grit, snarling as saliva dripped out of her mouth as she rapidly slashed at him. Kurome stopped a while after, panting as she stood in front of the man, glaring at his shades while he merely grinned.

"You know, Kurome, I do simply… _treasure_ family reunions, don't you? I heard your sister was going to be in town tonight, perhaps we should go see her?" Menma's question was innocent, but his grin was malicious. He began dashing back, each time the gleam of Kurome's sword just barely missing his chest. This dangerous game of Cat and Mouse continued for quite a while, before suddenly, instead of dashing back like before, Menma ducked down, sweeping with his foot, Kurome smacking the roof next to him. Menma quickly seized her throat, dragging her down as he jumped off of the roof, dragging the struggling girl into a large alley way, and he grinned as he came across the sight of a freshly killed Ogre with a panting Tatsumi standing over the man's dead body.

Menma held the still struggling Kurome in a fierce grip, just barely allowing Kurome to breathe. "So, Tatsumi, it is good to meet the boy who challenged my brother to see the darkness of this empire." Menma's voice rang out, echoing in the empty Empire. Tatsumi suddenly recoiled in shock, having not noticed Menma and the struggling Kurome while he contemplated Ogre's death at his hands. "What the… Who're you!?" Tatsumi demanded, his eyes growing cold as he pointed his sword at Menma, who merely grinned from behind his shades, Kurome's kick at his groin doing nothing more than making his face twitch slightly, a tear rolling down his cheek slowly from the pain.

"Who I am is none of your business, Tatsumi-san. In fact, I will not hurt you. I just… need you to stay here for now. No doubt, Akame is giving you a time limit before she comes and checks for your safety. Which, she should do in… 3, 2, 1, and," Akame suddenly dropped in the space between Menma and Tatsumi, raising to her full height and widening her eyes when she and Kurome made eye contact. "Here she is. I've brought you something, _Akame._ " Menma's voice was dark, as he suddenly threw Kurome forward, the girl falling with a moan.

"Kurome!" Akame shouted, dropping onto her knees and checking her little sister for wounds, surprisingly finding none other than a sore neck. Kurome was shocked at the concern she received from her sister. "Nee-san… why did you abandon me?" Kurome's voice was small, barely above a whisper as she looked up at the frantic Akame with curiosity.

From behind his shades, Menma's eyes begun to spin excitedly, the tomoe blurring in their excitement. His grin stretched even further, which did not go unnoticed by Tatsumi, who watched the man with apprehension, his green eyes focused on the man's grin. Akame looked down at her sister, sighing softly.

"Kurome, I did it because I had to. This empire, it is corrupt. The innocent die while the evil thrive. I, I wish to change this world. For the better. I left because I had to, Kurome." Akame answered her sister, who looked down suddenly. "You left me, all alone. They… They did things to me, Nee-san. If it were not for N-Naruto-kun, I don't think I would be healthy today…" Kurome's voice trailed off as Akame's eyes widened. Naruto, that kind medic, had helped her sister. Then, she looked up at Menma while the man began to laugh, the laugh hollow and broken.

"AHAHAHA! THAT TEME HELPS WHOEVER THE FUCK HE SEES! IT'S DISGRACEFUL!" Menma's eyes glowed from past his shades, the red glow intimidating as he drew his head back and laughed, holding his gut. Suddenly, Menma launched into an upright position, his grin gone and his face emotionless. "Aniki has become too soft. Truly, he has. But, that is none of your concern. For now, you two… will act as measuring sticks." Menma whispered, though Akame filed the information about Naruto being his brother for later, as the man suddenly rushed the pair of sisters. Akame threw her sister behind her for safety, the girl landing skillfully on her feet, while Akame raised her arms and braced for the man's attack.

A clang reverberated through the alley way as Akame slowly opened her eyes, the sight of a shaking Tatsumi holding back a red katana in the man's hand shocking Akame. "I, I won't let you touch them!" Tatsumi shouted, causing Menma to grin, as his free hand, which wasn't holding the grip of his katana, reached up to pull off his shades, revealing his blood-red spinning eyes. "Really? You truthfully believe that, boy? Even though your entire body is shaking from trying to hold back even one of my arms?" Menma questioned, before his free hand suddenly smacked into Tatsumi's side, sending the brunette into the alley way wall, creating a dent in it as spider web cracks stretched out from Tatsumi's, now unconscious form.

Akame jumped back, drawing Murasame in the blink of an eye, landing solidly beside Kurome. She looked at her sister, the pair nodding to each other, before they launched themselves at the prone Menma, who merely grinned, his eyes spinning excitedly as he brought his red katana up once more.


	8. Chapter 8

The very same moon that watched Menma fight two raven-haired sisters, also watched as a darker-skinned man with a flowing, purplish pony tail trailed a pair of people, one who was a tall, proud blonde, his stride bobbing up and down happily, while the other was a somewhat tall blue-haired woman, calmly and purposefully striding through the empty streets of the Imperial Capital. The darker-skinned man grinned as the pair approached the area he had marked with his Teigu the day before, having known about the pair's plan to visit the restaurant up ahead.

Without warning, Syura teleported in a smear of light purple in front of the pair, quickly grabbing Naruto and hastily turning around, throwing the blonde into the building to his left, before he turned back and kicked Esdeath squarely in the chest, sending the woman flying backwards, though she remained on her feet, whereas Naruto ended up getting lodged into the side of a concrete wall. Syura grinned, the purple light fading from his body as he looked around.

"Syura. What is the meaning of this." Esdeath demanded coldly, her right hand stretching out to her side and a frozen rapier forming in her hand, the sign of her Teigu, Demon's Extract, glowing slightly on her chest as she did so. Syura turned to her, offering a somewhat charismatic grin. "Oh, Esdeath-hime," Esdeath nearly growled angrily at hearing a man, other than Naruto, call her Hime. It sickened her to her very core, Demon's Extract writhing in disgust in her veins. "You don't need to worry your gorgeouss little head. You see, this is an issue between me and that teme," Syura's point to indicate Naruto, who was lodged in the wall still, made Esdeath glare at the man, "And you don't need to get involved. Kay?" Syura offered, in a somewhat condescending voice, before he teleported over to Naruto, narrowly missing getting stabbed through the chest by an icy blue rapier.

Syura grinned sadistically as he grabbed Naruto's head by his blonde hair, yanking it forward, little rocks falling over the blonde's shoulders as he dislodged his head from the wall. Naruto's mouth hung open, blood leaking from his scalp, and his eyes drooped dangerously between reality and the dreamscape. Naruto's eyes shimmered as they looked at the moon, in his pain-induced haze. _The moon… looks beautiful tonight._ Naruto passively thought to himself, before an insanely-grinning Syura appeared in his vision. "Hey, Esdeath-hime, I wouldn't think about getting involved. I'll kill the blonde before he gets a chance to take a shot at me if ya' do that." Syura warned, his grin widening as Esdeath stopped her head-on charge, still standing ready.

"Syura," Esdeath growled, her teeth grit and her knuckles white as she gripped her ice-rapier. "Step. Away. From. Naruto. _Now._ " Esdeath demanded, her aura intimidating and a rippling effect permeating around her, her killing intent actually just barely achieving a physical form around her. Syura widened his eyes, before he grinned as he realized he still held the upper hand, which was in the form of Naruto's head in his hand.

"Hehe, no can-do Esdeath-hime. I came here to challenge this Teme," Syura grit his teeth angrily as he shook Naruto's head to indicate he was talking about the still recovering blonde, who's body began to twitch slightly in its stone imprisonment. "To a dual. You see, Hime, this is all for you! Really, it is! I want to show you just how… _weak. Incompetent._ _ **Useless,**_ This Teme is." Syura growled out, pulling Naruto's hair, the blonde actually gritting in pain now as his vision began to clear.

"So you just need to sit back and watch as I show you I am the superior man!" Syura yelled out, until a tanned-fist suddenly hit his gut, both Naruto and Syura hunching over slightly as Naruto fell out of the wall onto his feet, glaring at Syura as he straightened his back while the Prime Minister's son panted, heaving as he tried to catch his breath from the fist to his gut.

"You fucking, disgusting, worthless piece of human fucking waste." Naruto growled, shocking Esdeath with his words as he reversed the roles and went to grip Syura's hair, only for the man to teleport on a roof opposite of them on the street. Syura grinned, though it was laced with anger in his shining teeth. "This is good! Yes! Actually try to beat me, you Teme! I'll prove to Esdeath-hime that I am the man better suited for her!" Syura shouted, almost excitedly as he stood on the roof. Esdeath glared at the man, raising her rapier, until Naruto's hand softly pushed her's down, the blonde walking forward.

"So, you want to prove something, Syura? That you're… somehow…. _Better_ than me? Huh? S'that it?! Well then, fucking come on! I don't got much time to stick around to beat the filth outta you!" Naruto challenged angrily, his whole body shaking and convulsing in pure anger. He could stand people ogling Esdeath, hell he did it himself. He could stand people making comments and wondering how the pair ended up together. What he could not stand, was this sick fuck who wanted Esdeath for his own disgusting desires. And he had the _gall_ to challenge Naruto, publicly, with Esdeath present, like she was some sort of… fucking _prize._ Naruto had been angry before. But, now, he couldn't describe the pure feeling of rage that coursed through his body, making it quiver in eagerness to mutilate Syura. Something had switched in Naruto's mental wiring, and no longer did any sense of not wanting to harm Syura exist. It had been replaced, by a cruel desire. _He didn't want a single piece of Syura to be recognizable._

Syura grinned as he watched Naruto shake in anger, his blue eyes almost glowing in the night, before Syura glowed purple again. "As you wish, Teme…" Syura's voice echoed, until it was cut off by the sound of flesh hitting flesh, Naruto's body flying into the air as Syura's fist connected with his chin, before the man jumped up and continued his assault. He grabbed Naruto's head and stomach, before ruthlessly slamming his knee into the blonde's spine, Naruto coughed up spit and bile when it connected, before his breath hitched as a hand gripped his throat. Syura then began to draw his arm back, before throwing Naruto back down onto the ground, his body twisting in the air from the force he exerted in the throw.

Naruto groaned, laying still in the crater surrounding him, as he watched Syura gracefully descend back onto the ground. Naruto felt immobilized, though he felt his sheer rage still quivering within his body, making his heart jump around his chest. His anger then began to stretch to being angry at himself. He couldn't defend Esdeath-chan. Not like he used to? Pitiful. Pathetic. Disgraceful. Words of shame swam around Naruto's head in an ocean of anger, Naruto's eyes closing as he groaned angrily. Syura crouched down, around the edge of the crater, grinning madly at Naruto. "Heh, you ready to give up, Teme? You talked a big game, and it came crashing down, literally. Just give up already, you aren't strong enough to be by Esdeath-hime's side." The words of Syura echoed in Naruto's head, repeating themselves over and over again.

He wasn't strong enough. He had only defeated Daidara because he had the element of surprise. He had only defeated Liver and Nyau because he had his Teigu. How could he possibly beat Syura without either of them? Syura had the element of Surprise, and Naruto didn't want to use his Teigu to beat the man. It was a cheat. A short cut. He hated the idea of doing anything imply half-assed, at least when it came to Esdeath. Naruto growled from his crater-prison, glaring at Syura, who grinned at his look.

"Syura… I'll kill you. I don't care about your father. Or what he'll try to do to me. I don't fucking care about anything other than killing you right now. And when I set my mind to something," Naruto's arm suddenly blurred, latching around Syura's throat and squeezing viciously, "It gets done." Naruto growled out, climbing out of the crater, only to be disturbed slightly as Syura maintained his grin, despite the grip around his windpipe. Without warning, Syura had teleported behind Naruto, his foot slamming into the blonde's back and launching him forward. "You can't beat me, Teme. I can Teleport anywhere. Just give up." Syura's words were hollow in Naruto's mind as he got up once more, spinning around and connecting a kick to Syura's head, launching the scarred-man into the wall, creating a dent opposite of Naruto's own. Syura groaned, dislodging himself and glaring at Naruto, wiping blood off of his face.

"Teme, I'm gonna gut you for that." Syura growled, teleporting to Naruto's left. However, this time, Naruto had expected it. The blonde dropped down, dodging the kick, before his hand launched up and snatched Syura's ankle, before Naruto heaved and threw the man into the ground. Naruto pounced the man, unleashing punches and elbows to the almost-royalties head, blood flying up as he did so. Syura then teleported once more, standing a ways away from Naruto, holding his head. Naruto grinned as he got back up, blood staining his uniform as he walked towards Syura. "I've got it figured out, Syura. Heheh, I've got it figured out now. That little Teigu of your's, it's not as powerful as you make it out to be. You can only teleport every 45 seconds, right?" At Naruto's question, Syura's eyes widened, before he glared. "It doesn't matter if you figured it out. I can teleport anywhere and I can get the element of surprise whenever I need."

As Syura finished, he teleported, and this time his wrist was caught, which Naruto proceeded to snap in half, the Minister's son howling in pain, holding his wrist after Naruto released it. "You're simple, predictable. You use intimidation to make your enemies think you can teleport all the time, but don't because you're supposed to be confident that you don't need to. Pathetic once it's broken down, however. And now, you'll die because of it." Naruto's growled out, approaching Syura, before he launched his fist out, connecting it with Syura's head. He then reached out, grabbing the hand that held the man's Teigu, before Syura, in a panic, teleported onto the roof beside Naruto.

Naruto snarled, running towards the wall, before pushing himself off of it, his hand latching onto the rafter and pulling him up. Naruto then ran after Syura, who tried to stall for time, before Naruto launched himself at the man, both men tumbling around on the roof before falling, onto Syura's back. The purplish-haired man choked out blood, before Naruto snatched away his Teigu and threw it behind him. "You thought I'd lose. Thought I'd give up and die." Naruto muttered, before he gripped Syura's head, his thumb digging into the temple. "You're wrong. I don't care how long it takes me, how much pain it puts me through, how hard it is, but I will do _anything_ for Esdeath! That is love! Not this pitiful, disgusting lust for her you have!" Naruto shouted, reeling Syura's head back up, before slamming it into the ground. He continued this, and it wasn't long before Syura's head became a bloody, mushy pile of flesh underneath Naruto's hand. The blonde still shook in anger, blood coating his entire right arm and staining the front of his uniform. Looking at what he had done, Naruto sighed, rubbing his clean hand over his face.

" _What am I becoming?"_


	9. Chapter 9

_To all of the wonderful supporters of The Medic, please disregard the previous chapter that I uploaded. I am planning a full-scale rewrite of the previous chapter, and I am deeply sorry for releasing just garbage. I rushed it and put it almost no effort, and I am sorry. A full rewrite will be uploaded soon. Thank you for your continued support._


	10. Rewrite

_A small blonde boy stepped through a cold, dark forest made of spruce trees coated with an inch of snow, the ground of the forest blanketed in 2 inches of snow, snow consistently falling from the sky, maintaining the soft blanket on the ground more so than adding to it. The child's strides looked more like he was waddling instead of walking, the large first aid kit draped across his torso and handing to his side like a messenger bag only added to the comical image._

 _The boy shivered, naturally seeing as he was only wearing blue shorts and a long-sleeve white shirt, blue shoes adorning his feet, making a swirling imprint in the snow with each step the boy took, shivering with little puffs of visible air coming out of his mouth each time he breathed._

 _The boy stopped, scratching his head as he looked around, staring at his surroundings. 'I thought… wasn't this supposed to be south? Moss grew on the south side, right?' the boy thought to himself, looking at the trees, trying to find moss and failing. Deciding he might have just passed through a mountain range or something, the boy continued his trek forward, his first aid satchel bouncing on his hip with each step, his right hand gripping it loosely so that it did not flap too much and potentially get caught on a stray branch or something._

 _As the boy continued to stride forward, his eyes began to notice a large stream on menacing smoke billowing upwards into the sky from further ahead of him, dispersing into the air slowly. The boy's eyes glimmered slightly as he watched the smoke slowly billow upwards into the sky, his left hand grasping the strap of his first aid bag, his right hand snaking under the bag and grasping it tightly. The boy wanted to smile, hoping he could help some people, but knew that it would be wrong to be happy in a situation like this._

 _Regardless, the boy began to run towards the billowing smoke, towards the beginning of his story._

* * *

 _A small blue haired girl strode through the hot land that made up her home, her bare feet burning slightly with each step, the ground coated with 2 inches of soot, the air slowly swirling ash around her home like a canopy. What had caused the destruction of her home, at this…_ _ **absolute**_ _level, the young girl did not know, nor could she fathom it. Her family, they were the strongest. They hunted danger beasts for food every day, they killed weak bandits for their valuables, they were the_ _ **strongest.**_

 _The girl groaned slightly, her face scrunching up into a little pout, tears brimming the top of her lower eyelid as she looked around, seeing blood-soaked grounds, limbs hanging from burning rooftops, charred bodies, and even some bodies that were cut in half. The girl, for once in her life, was scared. It was a new emotion, one that the girl had immediately decided she hated. She loathed the feeling. It was foreign and disgusting. Unbefitting of a Partas daughter such as her._

 _The young girl's eyes slowed painfully to a stop on the shaking, shuddering body that was laying painfully on its back at the center of her home, next to the large compound that made up the main hall of her home. The girl wanted to run forward, but found that she could only stumble forward, her hands clasped in front of her mouth, tightly wound into a ball that grew whiter and whiter as she neared the body, sharply breathing as it grit its teeth, hand over its profusely bleeding stomach._

 _The girl slowly kneeled next to the body, a blue-haired man gritting his teeth and forcefully closing his eyes, his breath raspy and stuttered. The man's eyes opened sharply, immediately snapping over to the girl in a dazed state, fast and shaky as he attempted to steady his breathing. He grinned slightly, removing the hand from his stomach and placing it, despite the copious amounts of blood covering it, onto the little girl's shoulder, grasping it firmly._

" _Heh, heh, re-remember, heh,_ _ **The Strong Live and The Weak Die.**_ _Always, ulgh, always remember that… Es h…" the man's words lost strength as he laid his head down, eyes slowly closing until his breath stopped, his hand falling limply off of the girl's shoulder and loudly onto the ground, making a slap sound as it landed in the puddle of his own death._

 _The now named Esdeath said nothing as he leaned forward over her father's body, her blue hair shadowing her face. Her mind had shut down, unable to fully process the situation she found herself in, her father's dead body at her knees, her body coated in his blood._

" _Helloooo~ Hey! Anybody here!?" A loud, annoyingly high-pitched voice cut into Esdeath's mind, the sheer annoyance it brought her breaking her trance, and somehow distracting her from her situation. Esdeath turned around slightly, her chin over her left shoulder. Her eyes drifted over the burning setting, before settling on a small blonde boy as he meandered through the wreckage, naive to the death that surrounded him, a comically-large first aid bag draped over his body and flapping against his hip as he walked._

 _Esdeath did not call out to him, his annoying voice already piercing her mind and she did not want to actually_ talk _to him. Elgh. However, her silent prayers for him to ignore her were, well, ignored. The boy's eyes lit up as they landed on Esdeath's form, his face breaking from a large grin, a tooth missing from his top row of teeth and two from his bottom._

" _Hey! Heya! Little girl!" The boy shouted at her, waving his hand as he ran towards her. As he neared, his eyes landed on the dead body next to the girl, his eyes widening as he realized the weight of the situation he had found himself in. His speed slowed to the waddle-pace he had in the forest, crouching down next to the girl and staring at the body. The girl's eyes watched him, a dead-ice glazing over her normally bright blue eyes._

 _For a moment, the pair were silent. Neither speaking nor moving. The boy continued to stare at the body, his face slowly contorting into grief, regret. Esdeath did not know what he had to grieve in this situation. Until, he spoke. "I…. I was too late. I-I ran as fast as I could but… I was too late." His voice was low, loathing. He was_ _ **angry.**_ _But, sad. Esdeath was confused, but decided that, she shouldn't question it. She was angry and sad too. Perhaps the boy understood how she felt._

" _He is my father. Or, was." Her soft voice caught the boy off-guard, breaking him out of some sort of trance he found himself in, causing him to shake his head and look at her, sapphire meeting ice. "Oh…" his voice trailed off. Now, he felt even worse. That was, until he noticed the blood smeared shoulder that Esdeath boasted._

" _Oh oh oh are you hurt!?" The boy shouted in a manner that Esdeath couldn't fully describe as excited, but she couldn't fully deny that it wasn't excitement. It was odd to her. However, she did not correct his mistake, watching as he quickly approached her and began to tear into her clothing, trying to see the 'wound' she had on her shoulder until his eyes met bare, porcelain skin underneath her now destroyed sleeve._

" _...No." Esdeath muttered, looking into the boys regretful eyes. She was annoyed, and he could tell. "Ahahaha uhhhhh," the boy looked around, at first thinking to grab the clothes off of the body but… that was just wrong. Seeing no other option, the boy quickly stripped himself of his long-sleeve white top, his chest now bare in the cold environment, to the girl._

" _Here. It was my fault, so naturally I should be the one to fix it." The boy explained,_

 _noting the somewhat surprised look on the girls face. Regardless of her shock, Esdeath drapped the shirt over her body, the shirt surprisingly a little too large for her, the sleeves coming past her hands and folding over them slightly._

" _Thank you." Once more, the boy nearly missed her soft voice, though he smiled in a cheeky manner and rubbed the back of his head. "Hehe, no problem. Name's Naruto by the way, what's your name?" Ah, so his name was Naruto. Esdeath stared at him, before nodding slightly. "Esdeath Partas. Do you not have a surname?" The girl's innocent question broke the boy's smile and made his tear-lines darken slightly. "Y-Yes I have a surname, but… I don't like to tell people what it is." Naruto explained slowly, awkwardly trying to avoid the situation._

" _Uhhahah, uhmmm, well I should be going. I'm trying to make it to the capital in at least the next week. I found your home while heading south." Naruto explained, going to stand up, until Esdeath's small hand clasped his wrist, forcefully tugging him down to her eye-level._

" _I-I don't wan… You're not going south, idiot…" Esdeath's words trailed off, and she nearly giggled upon seeing the boy's exasperated and shocked face as it contorted into mental pain. "What!? Oh come on!" The boy groaned, clasping his forehead with his free hand, the one not in a claw grip courtesy of the small blue-haired girl near his knees._

" _Agh! Which way is south then, since you're so smart huh?" Naruto angrily demanded, forcefully swiping his arm away from Esdeath, who mumbled something when he did. "I… I can show you… I-If you want." Esdeath stumbled on her words, not out of embarrassment, but she did not think she would feel a need to… get the boy's help. She… didn't want to be left alone in her burning home. And, while the boy's voice alone annoyed Esdeath, he was her only option at the moment._

 _The boy reared back slightly, his face in shock, before he crossed his arms and looked away. "Fine. Let's go then." Naruto demanded, until his eyes looked at Esdeath once more, who looked up at him with Icy blue eyes. His glare softened, until he reached down to her with his hand._

" _Come on. I know it's hard now, and while it might not look like it, I know how hard those first steps after something like this can be. How bout a deal, since you've got my shirt and it's cold as heck here, I'll carry you so that you don't have to walk and I don't have to shiver, deal?" Naruto offered, his serene face calming Esdeath, who grasped his hand and nodded._

 _The boy closed his eyes and grinned, his missing teeth adding to his image, before he promptly turned around and held out his hands. "Come on then! Let's get goin!" The boy exclaimed excitedly. Esdeath grinned slightly, reaching her arms around his neck and allowing his arms to snake under her thighs, hoisting her up onto his bare back, the boy grinning._

" _Heheh, here we go then! To the capital!" The boy shouted, waddling out of the burning Partas compound._

* * *

 **There's a little snippet of a full rewrite of The Medic that I've been thinking of doing. Give me your thoughts on whether or not you'd rather see a full rewrite or for me to continue what I've got, though I kinda don't want to.**

 **If you want more information about why, I've noticed how shallow the characters are in my original chapters. They were hastily written, and their "development" happened within one page usually, or not touched on at all. And everything was rushed. I found that, looking back, I missed a huge opportunity with further exploring Naruto and Esdeath's upbringing after he found her, as well as a huge mistake in the development of their relationship. While it makes sense for them to be so close in later years, they clicked far too quickly for such different individuals in my original write. In this one, Esdeath is more reserved and cautious, even annoyed by Naruto. Though, having just experienced a great loss, Naruto is able to ease her thoughts by distracting her from them, and eventually she will find comfort in how he handles things, since it will be a further distraction from her grief. Though, as she gets older this evolves into what he know it is from my original chapters.**

 **Anyway, give me your thoughts. Though, I might still just proceed with the rewrite. In certain areas, it** _ **really**_ **pains me to read the original chapters.**


	11. Chapter 11

_**Medic will be receiving a full blown rewrite, however, I know that quite a few people do/did enjoy the original's chapters, so I will be keeping the original chapters up, including the rewrite news and this update, on my profile. Now, I will also be answering a few questions from reviews in this update.**_

 _ **X-ownz: "will menma still be in this? (please say no)"**_

Yes, Menma WILL still be in the story as he plays an essential role in Naruto's character development and the man he becomes through his struggles, struggles that are largely caused directly by Menma. I understand that some people really do not like Menma, but you must understand, the only thing Menma shares from Naruto as a series in the name and the design in his eyes. I wanted to slowly reveal that his eye powers are weaker than the Sharingan from Naruto, and are more of an illusion/manipulation based power, but angry reviews and readers forced me to reveal that early through an Author's Note. Menma is his own character will two elements loosely taken from Naruto the series.

 ** _lLonelyFoxl: "Is there going to be any new story elements in the rewrite, if you choose to do it?"_**

Yes, there will be new story elements, with a large conflict during Naruto and Esdeath child phase in the empire, as we all know two orphaned children don't do well in the Empire. It will deal directly with the concerns some readers expressed about how growing up so close to Naruto would still allow Esdeath to cultivate her twisted, sadistic nature, while also providing further foundation for the close relationship Esdeath and Naruto have when they are grown up. (I mean lets be real, a sadist and a pacifist would never grow up so closely)

 _ **Common Complaint: "Naruto is weak, stopped reading"**_

Yes, Naruto _is_ weak. Its his whole character basis. It makes his relationship with a woman obsessed with strength interesting. It makes you want to explore how they could get so close, how Naruto could _survive_ in the Akame Ga Kill world, a world built on strength. It also makes for an interesting internal conflict within Naruto, as he realizes his only way to live in a live or death fight is to use what I've written as **_potentially_** the strongest Teigu on the planet. I mean, come on the boy's father conquered lands with a single shot. This reliance on the weapon also allows me to write interesting scenarios where his Teigu A:) Refuses to work, B:) Is not in his immediate possession, or C:) Even chooses someone else as its wielder. If you didn't know, this ability to write conflicts like this is the reason Stan Lee originally gave Spider Man web slingers as a gadget instead of a power, so that he could write conflicts where they failed him. All of these things allow me to write an arc, or a story long arc, where Naruto discovers _his_ power, and finds _his_ strength, whatever that may be. As for **why** Naruto is a pacifist, well I poked and prodded at it in the original, so I don't mind spoiling. His father is the number one reason. His father was a tyrant, ruthlessly leading and conquering with the Teigu, allowing his armies to commit despicable acts much like Esdeath.

Anyway, theres my response and theres what happening with The Medic and its rewrite. The rewrite will go up sometime on my Profile, and will most likely be named "The Medic: Redux" or something like that. Be on the look out!


	12. Chapter 12

Yo author dude here. I just published the first chapter to the Medic Rewrite, so go on over to my profile and check out "The Medic: Redux" if you are interested in reading.


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